Grimm Dimension
by Deathmaywrite
Summary: He didn't mean to fall into a new dimension. At least not for long. But now, he was stuck in a world of monster's known as Grimm with a request from a professor named Ozpin, and two teams of teenager to help the best he can till he can get home. That is, until part of his home leaks into this world, and it isn't good. It seem's he'll be here longer than he thought.
1. A Grimm Dimension (Role Credits)

**Hello everyone, and welcome to my story. A few things before I start. If you have any questions at all about this story, leave a review or PM me. I will answer any and all questions I receive. Also, in the sense of leaving reviews, please do so to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what worked, and what didn't. I would much appreciate that. Also, if you like this story, i have three suggestions for you. First off, check out my first story that I'm writing, He's not like us. It's a great SSB4 story and i am trying to update it every week to two weeks. Secondly, check out Junior BLD, who is a great author on this site. I love his stories and they are interesting and detailed. Finally, check out Aubreydemoux on wattpad, which is another site I post on. She's creating an original story that is amazing, unlike me who's writing a crappy fanfic. HAHAAHAHAHAH, please send help. Okay, Now that that's been dealt with, I hope you enjoy the chapter. READ ON!**

Sixteen year old Bryce Anderson was bored to tears. He loved his father and all, but he could be so freaking BORING! Bryce groaned as his dad, Zach Anderson, rambled on about dimensional travel. He looked at his dad's brown hair and green eyes and wondered how he could look so much like him, but be so different.

"As you know, our powers over Creation and Destruction energy allow us to control things in the universe slightly, as well as heighten our combat prowess, increasing speed, strength, durability, and motor and cognitive abilities, and even physical manifestations, combat or otherwise. But the most interesting of all is the ability to jump between dimensions."

Bryce stretched out his legs, trying to let out his boredom anyway possible, his average frame and height, him being roughly 5'11, still hitting the desk. Bryce looked at the other students in the classroom. They all looked mildly interested in what his father was talking about. All of them tugged at their royal blue military uniforms, which was just a nice pair of khakis, and button up, long-sleeve shirts. They all were had taken his father's class for 'power control' at a prestigious military school on Septon, Septonian home planet, called Epilarchía Academy.

"The ability to duck in and out between dimensions allows us to dodge attacks we might not be able to normally, no matter the scel. This ability is crucial to many of our fighting styles from Adíkima to Psychí Flow."

Bryce's head fell onto his desk. He'd been given this lecture from his father a million times, so while this may be news to those around him, it was driving him insane. He knew all of this already, and he also knew for fact his father wasn't about to teach a bunch of sophomores and juniors how to use these dimensional portals. He was just going to teach them how to change their powers to fit different dimensions.

"However, sometime you'll get stuck in a dimension you enter. So, to hide what you are, it's often best to change your power to match what is seen as power in that dimension, or hide your power all together. Today, I'll be teaching you how to change your powers to match the worlds you go into."

The class whispered excitedly amongst themselves. This was new idea for most of them, and thought it sounded awesome. To Bryce, it was aggravating. He'd been doing this since he was three. Due to his father's teaching, he was better at manipulating his powers than most soldier on Campus. Even his father could barely outmatch him. He rolled his eyes as his father morphed his power to match that of dimension BL1, more commonly known as Bleach, nicknamed for some reason no one understood, but just let it go. His dad began to coach everyone as they struggled to match their teacher's example, with varying levels of success, but never completely pulling off the trick. Bryce sat there doing nothing, till his father turned to him.

"Bryce, care to participate in the lesson? Just cause you're my son doesn't exempt you from the assignments." Zach scoffed, frustrated at his son's attitude. Bryce merely rolled his eyes, and matched the power of SHinigami's in a brief second. Everyone in the class gasped, while his father sighed.

"Thank you for that, although I would appreciate it if you'd not give me such an attitude as you do what I've asked." Bryce sighed, trying to calm his aggrivated mind. He had a large advantage to most every person on campu, and had been learning to control his abilities from a young age, a luxury most didn't have. He couldn't let that advantage cause him to be rude or abbrassive. His mom would kill him if he did.

"Sorry Dad, I'll pay more attention." Bryce apologized sincerely. Zach smiled and nodded before continuing on with his lesson.

…

After class, Bryce was walking to the cafeteria, as it was lunch time, when he heard someone calling out for him.

"Sigma! SIGMA!" a light-hearted male voice called. Bryce scowled and turned to see a small, blond with teasing brown eyes running towards him, waving. His army uniform was loose and flapped around his arms and legs wildly as he ran.

"Shut it Miles! Quit it with that stupid nickname. I get enough flak from you, Bailey and Natalie, I don't need the whole school joining in." Bryce crossed his arms and glared at the excited blond. Miles didn't react, he was used to the expression.

"Aaw, but it was funny. You can't expect us to not hold it over your head," Miles chirped, throwing his arm over his friend. Bryce just sighed, and rubbed his forehead.

"I quote that stupid Artificial Intelligence one time, and you can't seem to let it go." Bryce mumbled softly, only to hear Miles laugh.

"It was what you quoted and how it made you sound exactly like Sigma. It was too perfect."

"Shut it. I don't want to hear it from you, lover boy, especially when you can't build up the courage to drop the news." This quickly shut Miles up, as he blushed madly.

"Quiet you. If you say anything to Bailey, I swear I'll-"

"You'll do what exactly?" A confident, female voice interrupted Miles. The two turned to see a black-haired girl, roughly five-foot five, two inches taller than Miles, with blue eyes walk towards them. She wore the bottom half of their military uniform, while for a shirt she wore a simple light-green t-shirt, with her military top wrapped around her waist.

"We both know you can't do much to him, and even if you could, I'd get even," the girl smirked before grabbing Bryce's hand. "Besides, I a may need him later."

"I would hope so, otherwise I'd feel very neglected Natalie," Bryce grinned, kissing her cheek. Natalie only rolled her eyes.

"Oh, lord help us, the great Bryce, prodigy of energy manipulation, ever feel neglected." Natalie said, her comment dripping with sarcasm. Bryce winced.

"That's already spread? Geez, I didn't think people could tell rumors so fast."

"What'd you expect. You act bored, annoyed, then easily do what everyone else was struggling to do. That kind of thing attracts attention like moths to flame," Miles added. He had a good point. Those were attention grabbers. Bryce was about to say something in his defense when someone coughed in a means to say 'excuse me.' The three friends looked up to see Bryce's dad standing in front of them.

"I'm sorry Natalie, but I need to steal my son for a couple minutes."

Natalie nodded. "Sure Mr. Anderson." She gave Bryce a quick kiss, and whispered, "good luck," teasingly into his ear before she and Miles continued walking down the hallway, laughing. Bryce looked at his dad questioningly.

"So, what's up? You need me for something?"

"Yes in fact, I do," This surprised Bryce. His dad rarely ever required his help for ANYTHING. But before he could question the previous statement, his dad clarified. "Or rather, I want to help you?"

"What do you mean?" Now Bryce was really confused.

"Well, I know you're frustrated with the pace of the class and what you want to do more. So, I was hoping to start teaching you to jump dimension." Zach explained.

Bryce's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, are you serious?"

Zach only smiled at his son. He could tell he was excited, as anyone would be who was about to learn this particular skill. "One hundred percent."

"Dad," Bryce grinned, "You are amazing."

"It took you this long into your life to realize that? I'm disappointed."

Zach only laughed while Bryce shook his head in annoyance, as they walked down the hallway to Zach's classroom.

…

"Okay, now visualize the portal, just like we first started to teleport, but don't imagine a place," Zach told his son, standing by a computer, watching a list of nearby rifts dimensions run across the screen. They all were relatively safe, and easy to pull out of. Each dimension had a resistance to them when people tried to exit the, unless it was your home dimension. It was like diving into water with a weight on your back. It was easy going in, but harder to come back out, as the weight would limit your movement. These open dimensions had openings between the fabric of reality, making them relatively easy to go in and out of, with very little weight behind exiting.

"Okay, I think I got it," Bryce said. Zach nodded. Knowing his son, he probably did have it, unlike most naive students in his classes. But then again, he'd been learning how to use his powers since a very young age, compared to where most kids had started learning three or four years ago.

"Good, not exert Creation energy to make it, but sprinkle Destruction energy around the edges."

Bryce nodded, then did as his father asked. The idea was simple, and Bryce understood why. The little bit of destruction energy would destroy a hole large enough to traverse to the dimension, while the creation energy created a pathway or pipeline leading to the planned dimension, rather than just landing anywhere, or worse landing nowhere at all. Second after attempting to do so, a blue, vortex like hole with black near the edges appeared in front of Bryce. He smiled and looked down at his sword, Alpha, attached to his waist, just in case something went wrong. He really hoped this wouldn't be like his first teleportation alone, as it was embarrassing and he didn't think he could live through his parents teasing a second time. The sword may have seemed excessive, but you could never be too sure in the world they lived in.

"Nicely done, now open your mind, and try to find a sound, with your powers and your soul, not with your ears, that you feel comfortable with."

Bryce grunted, then sent out what he'd termed, 'Sensory energy,' which was perceptive creation energy, to listen for the sound. He tried to find one that he felt comfortable with, as his father had suggested. He looked for a full ten minutes yielded no success. He growled in frustration.

Zach had expected this. It took almost an hour on average, and it was common to lose patience multiple times before finding a dimension you could instinctively jump to in times of need. Zach was about to call out to Bryce to keep trying when the computer began to flash red, in warning. Zach looked down in worry to see a problem. On the list, one of the unentered dimension that had yet to be scouted appeared. It's exit weight was the second highest ever recorded, far too heavy for most people to draw out of. But it was always closed off, and never drew close enough to be touched by their powers. Unless…

"Bryce, stop sensing for the sound! Your probing with Omni!"

While Bryce and Zach's species, often only could connect to Creation and/or Destruction energy, the Anderson's contained a rare gene that allowed them to connect to a third source of power. The universal energy, which was used to build, enhance, change, deconstruct, or destroy everything in existence, unlike the smaller and less potent energies most people knew about. This energy was five to ten times as effective as both Creation and Destruction energy combined. With it, any who controlled it could affect things at a larger range more potently, and quickly than others. This also meant that it brought on bigger consequences.

By the time Bryce's father had called out for him to stop, it was too late, he'd found one that seemed calming, it's energetic sound appealing. When Bryce realized what his father had said, his concentration broke, finally understanding what he'd said.

"Wait, what?"

With that, everything around Bryce popped. If you lose focus on a portal of any kind, especially one with Omni-energy within it, bad things happen. Often, the portal would suck in all close objects then close. Once Bryce's concentration fell from the portal to his father, he was immediately picked up and sucked into the small vortex.

"Oh, shi-" Bryce started, only to be cut off as the portal closed behind him. Zach immediately sent out probes of his own and looked on the computer for any sign of the dimension labeled RWBY, but it was gone.

"Dang it," The worried father cursed, "how am I going to explain this to his mother?"

…

Emerald Forest, Remnant

(All unknown to Bryce)

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttt!" Bryce cried as he flew through a swirling dark purple and black vortex. Once he exited the dimensional path, he was in the air, hurdling fast towards a forest.

"Oh crap, not landing in those," Bryce yelped, as he narrowly avoided hitting a large tree. Using his Creation energy, he hardened the air underneath him to a level that he could stop on top of like a platform. A useful trick his dad had taught him when he was eight years old. Granted, his father had proceeded to throw him off a cliff to speed up the learning process, but still, it was useful.

"Phew, that was close," Bryce sighed. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was, but it didn't look like any of the known dimensions he was taught about. Bryce shrugged before remembering what his father had told him.

"Before you go trying to break out of this dimension, I would like to bring something you should know to your attention." A voice spoke in his head. Bryce sighed.

"What is it Alpha?" Alpha, his sword, not only was a great tool for combat, but also doubled as a companion for survival, as he was a highly advanced, wise mentor. He often noticed things Bryce missed, and due to his advanced teched out sensors that his father had spent a fortune on, he found things and understood them long before Bryce realized there was something to observe.

"This world was on the red list. It would seem we can not currently leave this place till you replenish you Omni-reserves. The weight is too great for you to escape on your own with Creation and Destruction energy."

"Pffft, please, as if a measly dimensional jump could cause me to lose most of my Omni reserves. They may be small right now, but they're not that small." Bryce laughed, and tried to imbue a portal with Omni energy to come forth, working on the idea that it would be similar to that of creating the first dimensional portal, but nothing happened. He tried again, but he felt no rush of power through his veins. Trying again with Creation and Destruction, Bryce stood dumbstruck as nothing happened.

"So… I'm stuck here." Bryce groaned.

"So it would seem. I tried to tell you earlier, but you ignored my observation."

"Yes, and I"m sorry. If we're stuck here though, it'd be best to find a place we could lie low and wait to restore the lost energy. First order of business is figuring out what their version of power is, then converting our power to it," Bryce muttered to himself. He gripped Alpha nervously. "Any ideas?"

"Well, there are roughly eight beings that I can identify as intelligent and humanoid to the north, near that cliff," Alpha responded. Bryce really hoped he didn't look crazy talking to the air, as Alpha could only be heard in his head, via the chip implanted near his brain. He prayed no one was watching this, or heaven forbid recording this. Not only would he be under serious suspicion, but he'd also be thought of as crazy for talking to the sky while standing in the air.

"Good to know. Think you can emulate their power so I can match it?"

"Give me a moment," Alpha hummed with power for a second before the small amount of Creation energy he emitted changed to something else entirely, presumably similar to the eight people just ahead of them. "This should be an accurate representation. I suggest changing most of your power to this, while leaving the amount you use to physically enhance your body intact."

"Good idea, Alpha," Bryce nodded. He proceeded to take up Alpha's suggestion, before continuing on. "Now then, I'll go over there and say hi, figure out what this world is, then try to build up enough Omni-energy to get out of here. With how much I seemed to have depleted, it'll be a long time before I replenish my tank anywhere enough to even possibly punch through this pocket."

"Fair point," Alpha acknowledged the intelligence behind the plan. And with that, Bryce dashed off towards the eight people, over several black, large, menacing creature, but ignored them for the most dropped down fifty feet out from the sky to the forest line below to observe the eight unknowns in front of him. To his surprise, they were all teenagers, and split into two groups of four, fighting off two very large, angry black creatures. One was bird like, attacking four girls nearest to the cliff, while a scorpion-like monstrosity battled two boys and girls. Since those four were close enough, he observed them, trying to burn them into his memory, as he figured it'd be useful later. The first young man was in white armor, with a black hoodie, wielding a sword and shield, mainly playing defense against the large creature. He had blond hair, and looked like he was mainly directing the other three. The other boy looked older, with black hair, with a pink streak and pink eyes. He wore a green tailcoat and white pants, with pink arm band that went up to his elbows, from his hands. He wielded two green, machine pistols that had blades attached to them, and was jumping around the creature quickly, shooting it as much as he could to gain its attention.. The girl that stood next to him was smiling, her orange hair whipping around like crazy, with a gray shirt and pink skirt, swinging around a large hammer, smashing down the claws before they hit anyone. The last girl jumped around, flying smoothly between the monsters attacks, her red hair, tied up in a ponytail, flinging around, hiting it's claws with a spear, blocking its tail with her shield. She wore a feminine, red breastplate, a spartan's skirt, and red gloves.

"Just a heads up, these creatures the adolescents before us appear to be fighting are inherently soulless. I sense no Soulspark within them." Alpha informed Bryce. The teen shivered.

"Nekróspsychí?" He asked tentatively.

"No, they are too instinctual, like animals, and considerably weaker. THey don't appear to be very intelligent."

Bryce let out a sigh of relief. The Nekróspsychí terrified him. They mode monsters from horror films look like child's play. It was a relief to know these things, soulless as they were, weren't Nekróspsychí. Bryce locked at the two creature before saying, "Fifteen percent?"

"Eighteen should cut it out by a safe morning. Just don't fly or use any flashy attacks until we know much we can get away with."

Bryce nodded. "Fair enough," he said, before diving out of the tree and running towards the first black, scorpion monster. As he got closer, one of the young men fighting the monster saw him approaching, and yelled at him.

"Hey, get out of here! This thing's dangerous!" Bryce only smiled at that.

"Why do you think I'm attacking it?" He called back before grabbing the creature's tail with both hands, and flipped it over his shoulder. It screamed in pain and frustration as it hit the ground. The blond boy just stared in shock, while the other three stopped their attacks and just raised their eyebrows in surprise at the turn in events. Before the creature could even attempt to right itself, Bryce jumped onto its underbelly and cut right through the creature, cutting the creature nearly in half.

"Okay, maybe I need to limit myself a wee bit more," Bryce said aloud, as now everyone was blown away at what he'd done. This was going to be hard to explain in the future, but, that didn't matter, he just needed to take these things out.

As soon as the creature began to dissipate into mist, Bryce ran off towards the other four people on the other side of the bridge, fighting the bird thing. As he ran fast the four who had been fighting the scorpion, three of them looked at him in awe, while the orange haired, hammer wielding girl stared at him with stars in her eyes.

"There's proof that you went a bit too far." Alpha said, and Bryce only shook his head as he began to get ready to climb up and fight the creature. Bryce shot ALpha's plade like a grappling hook, which it partly was into the rock face. The sword broke into eight smaller blades, all connected to a metal wire, the tip of the blade separating into four hooks. Bryce pressed a button on the handle of the blade, and the line reeled him in, forcing him to come into contact with the cliff face. Before he could continue to try and go up the cliff face, a large thing fell past his back. Turning his head to see what it was, Bryce caught a glimpse of the creature falling into the crevice below them, headless. Obviously, the other four girls had succeeded in their attack, which impressed Bryce a little bit. Bryce jumped of the rocks after pressing another button to release the hooks from the cliff face, then shot it again into the top of the cliff. As soon as the hooks gripped the top, the tether pulled Bryce back up again, launching him past the edge and up to the ground above. He flipped multiple times, mainly for style points and because it was fun, and landed on the ground. Getting his bearing quickly, Bryce spotted four inquisitive girls looking at him as if he was crazy, which he didn't blame them for.

One girl, who looked younger than the rest of them, stood next to the creature's head, with a trail of smeared blood leading up to the severed body part. She held a hugely oversized scythe, which was stuck into the ground in one hand. She had short black hair that was tinted red at the edges and silver eyes, which Bryce found interesting, as that was a rare trait, even where he came from. She wore a red cloak on top of a black blouse with a high collar and a black skirt, with black leggings and combat boots. All of her clothes had red trims at the edges. Just a couple feet behind her stood the other three girls. The first to left was a blonde with long hair and purple eyes, and for some reason, aviator glasses. She wore a yellow crop top underneath a brown, leather jacket, paired with black mini shorts, underneath a brown belt that matched her jacket, along with leather, knee-high boots. On her arms were yellow gauntlets that looked like they had shotgun shells in them. She seemed to be smirking at him like he'd caught her attention. The third girl stared at him in disgust as if he were causing a problem. She had 'perfect' white hair pulled back into a ponytail, and blue eyes. She wore a pristine, white dress, and held what seemed like a fencing saber with what seemed to be a revolving chamber above the guard that had vials of some different colored substance. She seemed like a noble and it already ticked Bryce off, as he REALLY didn't like nobles. Beside the noble girl stood a girl with black hair that had a black bow in it, and yellow eyes, similar to a cat's, which already was raising flags in his head. She wore a black vest over a white sleeveless crop undershirt. She had one hand placed on her side, on top of a pair of white shorts, connected to white leggings. In her other hand, she held a sword with a bladed sheath, that looked like it had a pistol for a handle.

"Uh… hi," Bryce said, awkwardly. He really was unsure what to say in this setting without saying something stupid to give himself away too much. He honestly didn't even know if they understood Koinós, despite it being the most common language among the dimensions, for some odd reason he didn't quite understand.

The younger girl in the red hood responded quickly, and not just in how fast she responded, but how fast she talked and zoomed around him as she ranted. "That. Was. AWESOME! You just jumped over the bridge like it was nothing, then shot your sword out and then you were like WHOOSH, then jumped off the wall, barely missing that Nevermore, and you were like VOOSH, and just shot up here and flipped like 'yeah, i do that everyday.' You gotta teach me how to do that." Realizing she was rambling, she blushed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh, sorry about that. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Ruby Rose! What's your name?"

Bryce looked nervously between the four people in front of him, three of which had questioningly raised their eyebrows in his direction. Bryce smiled, hoping it looked convincing, he really couldn't tell.

"Um, I'm Bryce Anderson. Nice to meet you Ruby."


	2. Hiding in a Shadow

**Hello, and welcome back to the story. Thank you to everyone who has been checking in on this story. Just real quick, again, I suggest you check out the following people if you enjoy my content, form this story to He's not like us. First, there's Junior BLD, who makes really good SSB stories, among other things. Secondly, on wattpad, check out Aubreydemoux, who's creating a really good original story that has a pretty good plot. Anyway, without further ado, the CHAPTER!**

Hiding in a Shadow

Bryce currently sat in a bland, undecorated room, which he assumed was a detainment cell, at a black desk. Seconds after reaching the top of the cliff, two security guards had showed up, and told him to follow him. Not wanting to bring more attention to himself as well as not cause more problems than necessary, he followed wordlessly, merely shrugging nonchalantly at the questioning looks all four girls had given him as he walked off.

They'd taken him to a large, skyscraper structure, that looked reminiscently like Epilarchía academy, at least in its early days. After guiding him through the twisting halls for what seemed like forever, they led him into the room he now resided in, and asked him to hand over his weapon (which he was nervous doing, seeing as it wasn't off this dimension, made of something probably not found here, and contained Alpha, which would be INFINITELY harder to explain), then locked the door after telling him to "Wait for Professor Ozpin," whoever that was.

So, here he sat, bored out of his mind, waiting for someone who obviously was a figure of authority at this place to show up. Bryce sighed as he slumped in the metal chair he sat in, twiddling his thumbs anxiously. He sat, trying to think of a way to explain his sudden experience that would be believable, but any possible solutions kept avoiding him. With Alpha having been taken far enough away from him to not be able to communicate with him, he was on his own. Bryce's option were really limited. An amnesia story would be seen as BS and shot down immediately. His earlier mention of a name kinda said he had memories. He didn't know enough about this world to say he was a wanderer, and he didn't think telling the truth was exactly the best idea. Bryce was irritated about not being able to converse with the smart, wise, and surprisingly funny Artificial Intelligence. Especially because he could really use his help right now.

Before Bryce could dive deeper into his thoughts, he heard the door at the other end of the room click, then open, revealing two important looking people, who proceeded to walk into the room. The first was a middle aged woman with blond hair, tied into a braid. Her cold, green eyes glistened behind the glasses that resided on her nose. She wore a long-sleeved shirt, with a black skirt, and purple cape that looked like flames. She seemed to be looking at Bryce sourly, as if he was the source of serious stress and frustration to her. The man next to her sat down on the chair opposite Bryce. He was older, but not by much, he was possibly in his late forties. He had neat silver hair, that didn't seem to be styled. His brown eyes betrayed a calm sense of calculating intelligence, showing the man was wise. He held a cane in one hand and comfortably drank from his coffee cup, looking at Bryce in silent curiosity over his shaded glasses. He wore an unzipped black suit coat with a green shirt underneath, with a pair of dark green pants.

"Hello there, Bryce."

Bryce, being an intelligent, even if he was brash, sixteen year old, didn't react at this man knowing his name. "You spoke to Ruby it seems."

"The man only smiled. "Yes, I did. It seems you thought things through carefully while you awaited my arrival."

"So, you're Professor Ozpin then?"

The now named Ozpin simply nodded, "Indeed. I'm glad to make your acquaintance."

"Same. Who's the pissed off women next to you?" Bryce asked bluntly, nodding his head to the blond women. Oz held back a laugh as a nerve popped forward on the woman's head.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch. It would be best if you remember that and stop being so rude and insulting to those of more authority to you, especially those who are obviously older and WISER than you." Glynda growled. Bryce raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I give, I give, geez. I was just making a joke about how mad you were at my existence. Pleasure to meet you Ms. Goodwitch."

"It would be better if you stop making jokes and listen to what Ozpin has to say to you. You'll get along a lot further in life if you do so," Glynda chastised, as if she was a parent scolding a child. 'She must be a teacher,' Bryce thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, and turned to Ozpin. Ozpin's chuckle had died down into a bright smile at the antics playing out before him.

"All right, I'll get right to the point, as I assume you're well aware that we're curious. We want to know who, and/or what you truly are, and if you are a threat to us, or a possible ally."

Bryce felt a bead of nervous sweat appear on his forehead. "What do you mean, what I truly am?"

Ozpin didn't say anything, rather he simply nodded to Glynda. The woman returned the gesture, then proceeded to pull out a large tablet that had a opaque, see through screen. Before he could really question why she was pulling it out, she tapped the screen to pull up a video, which started to play on the screen. Bryce saw a video feed from some unknown camera in the forest he'd… previously… been in… aimed at the sky… Understanding hit him like a ton of bricks.

The video feed showed the swirling blue and black portal appear in the air, spit Bryce out, who proceeded to catch himself quickly, and the portal lose. The camera turned to watch Bryce stand in the air for a couple seconds before taking off, almost fast enough for the camera to not catch his movement.

"Ah, frick," Bryce sighed. Every lie he could've thought up was instantly thrown out the window with this. Ozpin looked amused at his reaction, while Glynda seemed to only grow more suspicious. "Welp, that's an issue I really hoped I wasn't going to have to explain so early on."

"Yes, well, I think with this, we've shown enough reason to show why we have questions that we believe desperately need answers.

Bryce sighed. He wanted to lie SO bad, but he needed time, or Alpha, to craft a seamless story, which he had neither of.

"Okay, what I'm going to say will sound crazy-" he started, only for Glynda to snort.

"Young man, I doubt anything you will say will shock us," she stated, staring him down like he was avoiding a class period. 'Yup,' he reaffirmed his earlier thoughts, 'definitely a teacher.' Bryce smirked.

"As I was saying, this will sound crazy but this is the truth and nothing but the truth. You seem like good people and obviously the heads of this 'school, whatever it is, so I hope my trust isn't misplaced." Bryce looked carefully at the two of them. "I'm not actually from here, wherever 'here' is. I'm from a different dimension of reality altogether."

This did surprise the two adults, who stopped moving, either drinking a cup of coffee, or accessing something on the tablet in their hands.

"Come again?" Ozpin asked incredulously. And with that, Bryce explained the basics of who he was, where he was from, how he'd ended up here, all of it up until that point. Ozpin and Glynda sat in silence for a while before Glynda scoffed.

"I don't believe one bit of what I'm hearing. Tell us the truth, young man, or we'll be forced to show our hand." She demanded. Bryce only smiled

"Oh, really?" Consciously switching his power back to its normal state from whatever they used, he teleported behind the two. They both jumped slightly, and turned to look at him with wide eyes. "Tell me, can your power-"

"Aura," Ozpin supplied.

"Aura then. Can Aura do this?" and with that, Bryce flicked his hand and exerted a massive amount of creation energy, which drew up a small chunk of his power, and changed the entire room into a fancifully decorated villa. The room grew much larger, the walls became a luscious red, with ornate lanterns lighting up the room. The table was turned into a cake table, with a very large, over decorated chocolate cake, at least in Bryce's taste. Next to the cake sat a tea set with tea already in the cups.

"Not really my style, but I figured this'd get your attention," Bryce shrugged, looking at the tw adults, who were AWESTRUCK at what this kid had done, with what seemed to be little to no effort. Let alone what he'd done should've been impossible. Turning to the good witch (Yang worthy pun), Bryce smiled. "Does that prove my statements or do you require more evidence?"

"W-what… how… how did you… even a maiden…" Glynda sputtered, standing in shock.

"Simple really. Well, simple for my people. You see, we learned long ago how to control and manipulate a universal energy that we called simply Creation Energy. Simplicity aside, it can change, manipulate, or enhance anything, even create something from literal nothing. Just about a thousand years ago, we discovered destruction energy, which is able to deconstruct, weaken, or destroy anything, unless counteracted."

With another wave of his hand, and emanating destruction energy, he deconstructed the room he'd created, returning it to a regular detainment cell.

"During our growth we learned how to use the abilities for combat, using Creation energy to create powerful shields, walls, heavy objects, suit of armor, enhancing our muscles, or powerful weapons, while learning to use destruction energy to weaken enemies, cause weapons to break more, and release powerful destructive attacks."

"If you don't mind me asking," Ozpin interjected, seeming to have gotten over the shock of such a powerful kid running around , as he once again calmly drank his coffee. Bryce sat down again, looking a bit more somber.

"Our focus on combat is… due to a long, brutal history. You see, even since the beginning, we've been hunted by other planets, species, and societies, for our vast technological understanding. But we were weak, and hadn't taken the time to develop many weapons. IN a rush to save ourselves, we looked for anything that might save us. So came the discovery of Creation energy. We quickly began to master it, like fish taking to water. But we… caused problems. While we defended ourselves, we pissed off the universe. You see, while the universe isn't entirely conscious, it is obsessed with balance, in all forms of the word. Good and evil, peace and war, Light and dark, creation and destruction. All these forces need to have balance, otherwise the universe becomes offset, which could lead to its eventual destruction." Bryce shuddered, before continuing.

"We were throwing off that balance because of our continuous creations, and that we didn't destroy enough. So, it created the Nekróspsychí in response." Bryce looked like he was struggling with something internally before he spoke again. "Those creatures, those eight… students, were fighting, what do you call them."

"Those are the Grimm. Soulless creatures, that feed off of negative emotion. There's many different type of Grimm, but they're all animalistic in nature, acting initially on instinct," the Professor explained to the young Septonian. Bryce simply nodded, adding the knowledge to the 'important of later' file in his head.

"Well, I sensed the soul thing, as a soul, in a small portion, is connected to a unique form of energy, that we call 'life essence,' simply put. Think of the Nekróspsychí as hollow, demonic Grimm with intelligence. Unlike Grimm, the Nekróspsychí don't work on instinct, or survival. They work on one key idea. 'Kill anything that could potentially offset the balance'"

Bryce tried to beat the memories out of his head before they could surface, but failed. He pushed them back down before they overtook him though. Looking back to the two people in front of him.

"The Nekróspsychí attacked any and all who wielded Creation energy without mercy. If done right, they'd often suck the soul out of people, and turn them into more Nekróspsychí, a process that is… horrifying to watch. These… 'things' emitted a powerful layer of fear, causing any normal person to become petrified with terror. Even weak Nekróspsychí were enough to take on a whole squadron of soldier, like it was nothing. They were trying to commit Xenocide, though I don't think they rightly cared. IT was at this time, just before we became extinct, we discovered destruction energy. With this power now under our belt, two things happened. The first of which, the universe stopped creating more Nekróspsychí as now our power was balanced. The second, we were able to fight evenly against the Nekróspsychí. Four hundred years ago, we thought we got them all… until ten years ago, when they returned, stronger, faster, smarter, with more overwhelming bloodlust that the last time. They no longer only wanted balance, they wanted us gone for good. They hated us, despised us, and worst of all, wanted us, for who knows what."

"To this day, we're still plagued by them. Entire planets have been quarantined or destroyed because of them. Those foul… I can't even call them beasts, because that would insinuate some form of life and survival instincts. These things only know how to kill. They don't care how, why, or what happens to them, as long as they kill, it's fine." Bryce gripped his legs tightly as tears fell down his face. Ozpin and Glynda looked at his face sadly.

'This boy has gone through too much pain already,' Ozpin thought to himself, 'It seems we on Remnant don't have it as hard as we think we do. He's seen war, no, he's seen mass murder, bloodshed, extermination. How is he not a wreck.' Ozpin thought hard for a moment before considering something. 'Hmmm. I wonder if he could help us conquer our problems as well as allow us to help him get past his internal ones. Bring some more life into his mind.'

"Bryce," Ozpin began, his calm voice gaining the teen's attention quickly. " I'll be honest, I have no idea as to how dimensional travel works. I can say I didn't even realize there are multiple dimensions. But I have an offer for you."

Bryce wiped his face, drying his tears before responding. "I'm listening." Glynda looked at Ozpin nervously, not sure what Ozpin was going to do, but she was sure she didn't like it already.

"I want you to stay here at my school and help my students. You're obviously powerful, and I have a feeling you could teach the first years to fourth years how to fight, think, and survive in a warzone, specifically two teams in particular. In return, I'd help you in anyway I can, give you a place to stay, and lend you any resources you need to get home. I may ask more of you later, but this is my offer for now." Glynda Goodwitch disliked this idea heavily.

"Ozpin, are you insane? I don't care how powerful this young man is, he's only fifteen, sixteen maybe. We can't involve him in our personal war, just because he's here." Glynda continued to rant on as Bryce thought.

'I see us in these people,' he thought, 'I see a people facing a powerful foe that seems to have no end, and has been ruining lives. Before them is the power that could change things drastically, and of course they would grasp at it. That's what my ancestors did. I know their problem, yet… it's not too far gone for them," Bryce thought fondly, ' they still have hope. I can't let them lose that like we did.'

"Okay," Bryce said, interrupting Glynda, who stared at him, "I'll do it.

Ozpin nodded, while Glynda stared at the boy in shock, before yelling out in frustration, and leaving the room. Ozpin only sighed before saying, "I'll have to set things up for you, so I'll let you roam around," Ozpin got up to leave when he stopped as Bryce raised his hand for him to wait a second.

"Two things. One, I want my sword back. Secondly, I need a lot of basic info on this place, as I know nothing, and if you don't want me to stand out like a sore thumb and cause even more issues, I need a lot of books about history, lore, Aura, weapons, current events, anything you think i might need to pass off as from Remnant, that'd be great." Ozpin smiled at this, glad to see the boy was thinking this through.

"I'm glad to see you don't want to raise red flags so early on. Read them in here, so you don't get questioned. I'll be getting resources for your stay, but if you need me, contact one of the guards. I think it'd be easier if you stay hidden till you have enough knowledge to pass of as a resident." Bryce nodded, and smiled. Ozpin returned the warm sign of welcome, then left. A few minutes later, two guards walked in with a bunch of books that Bryce assumed were all about Remnant, and Alpha on top of one of the stacks.

"Here are your items, Mister…" the front guard stopped when he realized he didn't know the teen's name.

"Anderson, Bryce Anderson."

"Well, Mister Anderson, contact me or Mike here if you need anything more."

"Thanks, will do." Bryce nodded, with a pleasant grin, then turned to the books as the guards left the room.

"All right. Time to get started.

…

"Damn it!" Zach exclaimed, slamming his fists on the keyboard in front of him. "I can't find it anywhere."

"Honey, calm down," a woman, roughly thirty-nine, two years younger than Zach said, putting her hands on his back, trying to comfort him. "You didn't know this would happen, and we both know our son will be fine."

"But he's stuck in the dimension with the second highest dimensional pull ever recorded. No one dares go in for fear of not coming back. And that'd be if they could find the damn thing!" Zach held back tears. "I lost him one, I can't handle that again. I can't let him go again, Eliza!"

"You think I can?" Eliza cried, running two hands through her platinum blond hair. Her blues eyes darkened as tears reflected off the lights on the ceiling. "I'm scared too, but I have to believe he'll be all right." She looked around, gesturing the the classroom they sat in, it's large, college style seating, with desks looking so ominous in the dark, as neither had wanted to turn on more lights than necessary. "I have to hope he'll be back here, being flippant in your classes, acing tests, otherwise I'll… I'll," Eliza just sobbed, unable to finish her sentence.

Zach took a minute to calm himself down before grabbing his wife's hand, and pulling her into him. "I know, honey, I just… I'm so afraid that we'll lose him all over again."

Before they could continue, someone knocked on the door. The Andersons looked worriedly at each other before the Patriarch called out, "Who is it?"  
"It's Natalie, sir," the two adults paled, "I just wanted to ask you something. It's about Bryce." The young girl sounded worried, almost scared. The parents instantly felt that they should tell her. That kind of worry deserved answers.

"Come in," Eliza called nervously. Natalie opened the door timidly, a look of anxiety playing across her normally confident and beautiful features. She walked slowly over to Bryce's equally nervous parents.

"What did you need, Natalite," Zach asked kindly.

"Um… do you… know where Bryce is?" I can't find him anywhere, and I can't seem to sense his soul anywhere in the school."

"About that," Zach sighed disheartedly, and fear gripped Natalie's heart. Whenever someone did that, it was never good. "You'll want to sit down."

"Natalie sat down on a chair opposite the desk Zach and Eliza sat at. She was sweating and starting to shake. "W-what's going on? What h-happened?"

"Natalie, what we're about to tell you must not reach anyone else's ears," Zach said somberly.

"What' wrong Mr. Anderson? What's going on?"

"I want you to understand that we're trying to rectify the mistake, and-"

"What. Happened. To Bryce?"

Zach sighed, before looking nervously at his wife, who nodded slowly, then answered. "Bryce had an accident with a dimensional portal. An unentered one.

Natalie paled, before gripping the sides of the chair.

"During some one on one practice, a new dimensional portal approached range, and connected with Bryce. When I tried to tell him to stop from reaching to it, as it had a powerful pull, he'd already found it, lost focus when I'd called for him, and was sucked into it."

"I-I don't understand, why can't you just go get him?"

"Well, the dimension in question won't stay near any source of power long enough to enter, except Bryce. This is due to our 'unique' ability." Zach said in air quotes. Though Omni-energy wielders were rare and powerful, making up 3% of the population of Septon, it was a well guarded secret. If a child was shown to wield the gene to develop a connection, the government would inform the parents of their child's ability, then swear them to secrecy. Natalie understood what he meant, as her father was a scientist who worked on the project dealing with Omni-energy. It was where she and Bryce had first met.

"Because of this, we can't even try to start a portal to enter this dimension, let alone actually get in and find Bryce. Second of all, it's too heavy for anyone to get out of, meaning Bryce is stuck there for now until we can figure something out."

The three of them sat there in dead silence for two minutes as Natalie sat there in pure terror, shaking, pale, and unable to move. Finally, she stuttered, "T-t-thank y-you for tell-telling me. I-I'll be going now." With that, she ran out the door. Zach bit down his own fear as she left.

"That girl is acting exactly how I feel. I just hope this feeling doesn't last long," Zach mumbled worriedly as he held his concerned wife against his chest.

Outside, Natalie sat by the wall, and cried. She looked up to the sky, through the skylight above the big blue walls, seeing dark clouds roll over the sky threateningly into view.

"Bryce," she sobbed, "where are you?"

 **Whew, that was tough. Anyways, I'll be updating He's not like us sometime this week, and the next chapter of this story around a week and a half. If you enjoy this story, favorite it and follow it. Also, drop a review if you have suggestions, things you'd like to see change, added, or if you could tell me what works and all that, I'd really appreciate. Anyway, just to explain my personal universe theory that will be important for this story, each dimension is a seperate universe, so if Bryce's universe were to collapse, it wouldn't affect the other dimensions other than causing a large scale accident that would last maybe a day or two. Secondly, each dimension/universe resides in a multiverse, and each universe can only travel to dimensions withing this multiverse. Remember that for later, trust me. Kay, with that out of the way, I will see you all in the next chapter, and as always, STAY COOL!**


	3. Answer for your thoughts?

**AN: I am SO sorry this took so long. Geez, my work got crazy. Going from three days with long hours to five days with eight hours really threw off my schedule. But, I've got it worked out now, so hopefully, we won't run into this problem again. Anyway, shoutouts to the three reviewers so far.**

 **JuniorBLD** **: Glad you like the story so far, and I hope to create more interesting fight scenes. Hopefully my descriptions did the RWBY characters justice.**

 **xXgabeXx** **: Ha ha ha ha ha, Oh, I am so glad someone else thought that was funny.**

 **Guest(fan)** **: I will keep posting. Thanks for liking the story.**

 **Now, I will be posting a new chapter of He's not like us very soon, so be aware of that. That chapter took longer because I couldn't figure out how I wanted it to play out. Hope you all are not too angry about how long that ones taking. Anyway, on to the chapter.**

Answers for your thoughts?

After a full day of reading and researching, Bryce finally felt like he had enough knowledge to get by reasonably. With the help of Alpha, he'd created a believable story, that explained him, his whereabouts, origin, and how he'd ended up here. Or in Emerald forest, as he'd discovered to the forest he'd originally landed in to be called.

He was currently at a school known as Beacon, a prestigious school for teenagers to become Hunters and Huntresses, who were professional fighters who fought Grimm and crime alike. They seemed to take missions like guilds, and often worked in teams, or at least that was the general idea. There was no specific requirement for it. With the use of modified weapons and Dust, essentially magic for them (creation/destruction energy) in physical form, they fought off the Grimm to keep from destruction and had created four different kingdoms. Vale, where he currently resided, Mystral, Atlas, and Vacuo. Also, all hunters and huntresses, training or not, had Aura which as far as Bryce could tell, was a booster in physical abilities and a large defense. It was physical manifestation of the soul that could protect, heal, and enhance one's physical form. Then, there was semblances, which was a unique ability that came from one's soul. This ability could range from enhanced vision, to invisibility, gaining physical strength, or even summoning monsters to fight alongside you.

"Ya know," Bryce sighed, smiling slightly, "It seems it won't be as hard to hide here as much as I thought originally. Sure, I'll have to limit myself somewhat, but with the idea of Aura and Semblances, I can just have more Aura than most, and I can pass of any basic manipulations with creation and destruction energy as my semblance."

"It is kind of crazy how our universes parallel so easily in that regard," Alpha agreed, "But that only makes it easier to hide here. Now, you'll just need to find the dorm room you're staying in and get some sleep. You know what happens if you don't."

"I know, Alpha, it was only drilled into my ever since i was a toddler. Hopefully this scroll Ozpin gave me doesn't guide us down the wrong way," Bryce motioned to the cellular device in his hand, it's guide feature currently pulled up.

"Now, let's see, I take a left at the next hallway, and room 344 should be three doors down on the left." Bryce looked down at the scroll again, remembering how he'd been given the device after informing Ozpin of his story, so that there wouldn't be any inconsistencies between what he and Ozpin, as well as any staff that needed to know, said about where he came from, who he was, et cetera. Ozpin had told him the basic rules of Beacon, which were mostly alike any other school, so he didn't worry about them too much. Ozpin waived him on the uniform, saying as long as he wore his military uniform to classes, he should be good. Ozpin had told him for the first day to do as he liked, and suggested following a team around to their classes, and try to make friends.

Bryce really spaced out as he thought about what the future held for him, so much so that he didn't see one of the dorm room doors swing wide open, and hit him right in the face.

"Gah! What the hell!" Bryce cried as he stepped back, holding his slightly injured nose. As Bryce looked up to see a familiar face peeking past the door.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mea- Bryce, is that you?" Ruby's voice went from apologetic to surprise in no time flat.

"Sup," Bryce merely waved the hand not rubbing his nose. Ruby jumped up and down.

"Oh, oh, it's so cool to see you! Oh, you to meet the rest of my team, they didn't even get the chance to say hi to you cause those guards escorted you out. Why'd they do that by the way? Did you do something wrong? Oh, who cares, you can explain it all in the room. Come on!"

Bryce, who only really understood the last part, tried to stop her. "Hey, hold on a sec-" that was all he got out before he was grabbed by the arm and pulled haphazardly into the unorganized room. Bryce looked at the beds and all he could think was, 'Are we sure these kids can't use any creation energy?' They had one bed above another by attaching ropes to the ceiling by seemingly nothing, the other two beds stacked on top of each other, balanced by the use of books on each pillar to hole the top bunk in place. Each setup was somehow stable, and Bryce had NO clue why or how.

On all but one of the beds sat the other three girls Bryce had seen with Ruby. The noble girl with white hair sat in the bottom left bed doing homework. On the bottom right bunk sat the long haired blond girl laughing at something on her scroll. The black haired girl, who Bryce was starting to suspect was a faunus, sat on the top bunk on the right, in the very corner, reading a book. Faunus were basically humans with some animal feature, like a dog's nose, monkey tail, or what Bryce suspected in girl's case, cat ears.

"Blake, Yang, Weiss, I found Bryce, that guy we saw yesterday during initiation. The one that cut the deathstalker in half," Ruby exclaimed, jumping up in down in excitement.

"Hey, I've been meaning to find you and talk to you about that. I've got a lot of questions for you," the blond smiled as she sat up," I'm Yang by the way.

The black haired (faunus) girl looked up and spoke next. "I'm Blake, if we're doing introductions. I have many question for you. You've got me curious.

"Hmmm… though it isn't any of our business, I guess i myself have also been wondering about your previous whereabouts, and your sudden appearance," the assumed Weiss, who looked both at and down at him at the same time, commented. She seemed to do it unconsciously, as if she'd been trained from an early age to do so, which further supported his noble theory.

Wanting to test his theory quickly before these four dove into the obvious interrogation that was about to take place, Bryce said, "Well, you four seem as curious as cats, and we all know what they say about that," Bryce gave a quick glance at Blake. She paled, and her bow twitched.

'Welp, confirmed that one,' Bryce thought as Ruby and Yang giggled, while Weiss just snorted.

"Uh, we are not faunus, or cats for matter, you dolt," Weiss scolded Bryce angrily.

Blake's bow twitched again, more noticeably this time. Luckily for her, the rest of the team were in front of her, facing Bryce. Ruby finally got everyone to sit down, and Bryce prepared himself mentally before saying, "Alright, hit me. What do you wanna know?"

"First off, who are you really?" Ruby asked.

"What?" This question confused Bryce, and caused him to be slightly worried. Did they know what he was as well?

"You know, how old are you, what do you do, basic introductory stuff."

"Oh, okay. You could've just said that." Ruby merely shrugged at Bryce's response, and waited patiently for an answer, "Well, my name as I mentioned earlier is Bryce Anderson, I was training to be part of my town's military force, and I'm sixteen."

Everyone looked floored at this. "SIXTEEN!" Yang shouted.

Bryce was surprised at the outburst for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I'm sixteen, why?"

"You're sixteen and you can throw a deathstalker around like nothing? What kind of military does your town have?"

"Why are you even here, if your training to be part of your town's military force?" Blake interjected. Bryce nodded, to show acknowledgement to the question.

"Well, as you have probably guessed, I'm not exactly a student here-"

"Called it!" Yang laughed. A glare from Weiss shut her up.

"Anyway, I come from a remote village near the badlands."

"The badlands!" All four gasped in shock. Bryce groaned.

"Yes, the badlands. Can you be quest long enough for me to finish my explanation?" Bryce stared down all four girls, as if daring them to interrupt him again They didn't.

"Okay, now, we lived on the edge of the badlands and train to fight the toughest grimm possible. No matter the job, military or not, they train to use their aura, semblance, etc from the age of four."

"Woah, that's hardcore," Yang muttered. Bryce chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But, I grew up with it, so to me, it's normal. About four days ago, I got into a fight with a kid who was bullying one of the underclassmen. He was the son of one of the council members, you know the type. Thinks he's numero uno and the top dog, immune to social constructs and rules. During the fight, I hit him too hard and his neck snapped, permanently paralyzing him."

"Since his friends threatened the girl they'd been picking on, she didn't testify at my trial in my defense. I got convicted with a class B crime, which means banishment from the village for a minimum of three years."

"One of the people in our village has a semblance that lets her teleport things to a random location. Never anything big, only human sized or smaller. She used her semblance on me, per my father, another councilman. I ended up here, and have just kinda been wandering."

Bryce's story wasn't a complete lie. The bullying incident had really happened, and if Miles hadn't beat down the two friend of Jamison, the aforementioned bully, threatening Bailey and her brother, he would've been kicked out of Epilarchía academy. The last part was a lie, but it was a legit punishment one could receive in society, for that level of crime. What he'd done hadn't classified legally as a class B crime, but regardless, it was a legit sentence.

"Woah…" Ruby whispered, blinking back tears.

"Just like that? They just kicked you out, no food, no water, no help?" Blake asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, pretty much," Bryce nodded, shrugging. Honestly, it was a normal concept to him. Septonians were taught from a young age to like anywhere and constantly took trips to other exotic and remote places to learn and survive on their own. The idea felt natural to him, and he couldn't honestly say he understood their reactions. Guess that' the differences in cultures. "So, I ended up in the Emerald Forest, and kinda just walked. Yesterday, I heard gunshots and explosions, and just followed the noise. That, consequently, lead me to you guys, fighting the Deathstalker and the Nevermore."

"That's… very hard to believe," Weiss stated, blatantly suspicious.

"Oh really, snow angel?" Weiss' eye twitched at the nickname. Bryce payed it no mind. "How else do you explain it? I just accidentally fell through a portal from another dimension and ended up here?" Bryce deadpanned. He really hoped telling the truth, which he hoped seemed to them so insane of a possibility, that they'd automatically believe his story. THey sat in silence for a moment before Weiss shrugged.

"Fair enough. It's just weird to have never heard of towns near the badlands before."

"Why do you think we're there in the first place?" Bryce shot back.

"He makes a good point," Blake nodded. Weiss merely huffed in response, crossing her arms and scowling slightly.

"Thank you Blake. Now, any other questions you'd like to ask?" Ruby's hand shot up instantly. "Yeah, Ruby? This isn't a classroom, you can just ask."

Ruby blushed a little in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry. Just kinda used to it when someone asks if we have questions. Anyways, what does your sword do, what's its name, how'dyougetittodoeverythingitdid, canitturnintagun, canit-" Ruby's voice began to speed up as she went on till Yang slapped her in the back of the head, which (thankfully) cut her off.

"Sorry about that," Yang snickered, "She's a bit of a weapons enthusiast. Actually, eccentric is a better word for it." Despite denials from Ruby, the rest of her team nodded in agreement.

"So I noticed," Bryce chuckled at the team's interactions with one another. "Anyway, my first weapon, and my main one, is Alpha, which is a double-edged shorts sword, with a grappling hook and whip feature. It's made out of a steel/titanium alloy, so while it's heavy, it's amazingly sharp and durable." Now, while this was partially true, as titanium and steel were common across most dimensions, the metal he'd coated the blade in, dýnamium, was not. Which meant he had to conveniently leave that out.

"As for ranged," Bryce reached behind him and pulled out his favorite Desert Eagle, a fifty caliber pistol loaded with armor piercing rounds. He often just pulled it out of a pocket dimension most Septonians stored their gear, but he'd been consistently wearing it to hide where he really got it from, or lack thereof to everyone around him.

"Woah, a… a… what is that?" Ruby drooled, looking longingly at the camo patterned, glowing purple hand cannon in front of her. 'Obviously Desert Eagles don't exist here. Interesting, they usually show up somewhere,' Bryce thought.

"I'd have to agree with Ruby here, I've never seen that kind of gun before, not even with the experimental weapons my father brought home to look over," Weiss mentioned.

"It is a bit strange. I mean, dude, your gun is literally glowing," Yang agreed. Blake looked at the gun nervously.

"That doesn't look like it was designed for combat with Grimm," she said, slowly, her pale skin getting paler than normal. At this point in time, Bryce had only one thought on repeat in his mind. 'Oh... shoot.' This gun was a modified military issue weapon. Meaning it was designed to fight not only the Nekróspsychí, but it was meant to be used against other people using similar weaponry.

"That's because it's not," Bryce stated simply. Everyone grew quiet, even Ruby, whose previous interest in the gun disappeared as she realized the implication of what he'd said. "It's meant to combat people who might attack our village. Raiders, thieves, murders, kidnappers, or even other villages. It's a common problem over there."

"Okay." Blake simply nodded, accepting the answer. She visibly brightened in color. The other four girls sighed in relief.

"Geez, Bryce, don't do that to a girl," Yang teased, "You had us worried you were a murder or part of some terrorist group," At the mention of terrorist, Blake's 'bow' twitched again, which raised red flags in Bryce's head.

"I can research the girl, sir. For now, I suggest continuing to answer their questions." Alpha read Bryce's mind as he continued to look for information on the scroll that Ozpin had given the two.

'You know, you could help me,' Bryce growled inwardly at the robot within his sword.

"But this is a great learning experience for you. Besides, I'm busy," the serious delivery made the joke that much worse.

'Grrr, you are so infuriating sometimes,' Bryce grumbled in his brain.

"So… what is this thing exactly?" Ruby's question snapped Bryce back to reality, especially as he picked up the gun and began to inspect it. Taking the gun from her hands, Bryce answered.

"Oh, this is a fifty caliber Desert Eagle, with armor piercing rounds, modified to be imbued with aura to give it a big more punch, and can punch through just about most metal an inch thick. It wrecks anything weaker than that. The camouflage design is mainly just for show, but the purple glow is the artificial aura. The aura keeps the gun in almost perfect condition along with increasing the speed, power, and strength of the bullets."

"Ruby's eyes became stars as she stared at the gun in awe. "That things a fifty caliber? That's awesome."

Weiss raised her hand. "Explain the importance of caliber for those of us who don't use bullets that are metal." Blake nodded, as did Yang. From what Bryce could tell, she used shotgun shells, not pistol or rifle shells, so it made sense that she would understand gauges, but not caliber. Bryce pulled out a bullet from the gun to reveal a bullet that was thirteen millimeters long, encased in a near four inch casing.

"Calibers are based on a bullets size and the amount of gunpowder used to fire of the bullet within the shell itself. This bullet is the largest regular caliber, and has the most gunpowder overall, the largest bullet, meaning it's the most deadly. Armor piercing is just a way to say the bullet is designed to be more pointed and tougher than normal to pierce thing from metal to concrete, making regular means of armor obsolete."

Yang whistled. "Dang, that's impressive."

"Oh… My… Oum… YOURGUNISATINYSNIPERRIFLE!" Ruby squealed out so fast, Bryce didn't catch most of what she said, grabbing the gun and flipping it in her hands, and even pointing it dangerously around the room.

'Alpha.'

"Yes Bryce?"

'Remind me to never let Ruby be alone with that gun.'

"Duly noted." Quickly, Bryce took the gun from Ruby's hands, causing her to pout slightly.

"You know, I kind of have to laugh at the fact that the marksman of the group is the one to so blatantly mishandle a gun." Bryce grinned as Ruby's face flushed as she realized what she'd just been doing.

"I just wanted to try it," Ruby mumbled to herself.

"You'll see it in action during combat class tomorrow." Bryce told the pouting sniper.

"Really?" Ruby brightened, staring wide eyed at the Septonian, not that they knew that part.

"Yes, really."

"Speaking of combat, what is your semblance?" Blake asked inquisitively. Bryce only smiled.

"You'll also see that tomorrow, I promise. I'm not so careful to hide mine like others," Bryce said.

"Wait, so if you're going to combat class tomorrow, you're going to Beacon now?" Weiss asked, bewilderedly.

"Yeah, well, more like he offered me somewhere to stay for now till I can go home. Since said place happens to be a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses, I'll be going to beacon for now till I can go home."

"Oh… I see." Weiss looked a little bit humbled at her question, realizing just what it was she'd asked. Of course he was going to stay here, he literally had nowhere else to go, and was obviously strong. If Ozpin would recruit Ruby two years early for being skilled, then he'd definitely take a powerful young boy who had no place to call home currently under his wing.

"Anything else you feel like asking?"

"Yeah, I got one," Yang blurted, interrupting Blake, as she went to ask something herself, "How'd you get strong? I didn't think that kind of physical strength was possible normally. I mean, you sliced through a deathstalker, armor and all, like it was nothing."

At this, Bryce began to laugh. As he laughed, all four girls stared at him nervously. 'Why was he suddenly laughing?' they all thought. It was really nerve racking. Finally, Bryce calmed down enough to speak.

"Oh, ahem, I'm sorry, it's just… you guys remember where I lived, right?" It took the girls a brief second before understanding hit them full force.

"The badlands…" Blake responded slowly.

"Yeah, the badlands. That Deathstalker was a wimp compared to what we fight against normally. We trained daily to increase our natural strength to insane levels, as well as training our aura to enhance our bodies even further. Without aura, I can regularly bench about three thousand pounds. With aura, I can life about three times that."

What Byce told them was an understatement. Current Septonians were built to be deceptively strong compared to other species. So while Bryce was sort of muscled, he could really lift close to four thousand pounds without the enhancement of creation energy, which quintupled his strength. Then, because he controlled omni-energy, his strength grew ten times that.

"Yang's eyes were wide with envy, while everyone else was completely shocked.

"Seriously?!" Yang shouted. Bryce simply nodded to her outburst, confirming what he'd just said. Yang glared at the young man, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "You have to teach me how to get that strong."

"Nope, trade secret," Bryce grinned teasingly at the blond, who only growled in response.

"I will get you to teach me, so help me, or I'll-" Bryce cut her off, leaning forward right in her face, grinning.

"You'll do what, exactly?" Bryce challenged. Yang looked lost for a brief moment, before she smiled devilishly.

"I'll figure something out," she replied mischievously.

'Alpha, second not.'

"Listening, sir."

'Never let me be alone in the same room as Yang. I'm worried as to what she might try.'

"Will do, Bryce."

"Is that all the question you have for now?" Bryce looked to each of the girls, only to see Blake timidly raise her hand. The other three looked to Blake, and Bryce nodded to her. "Go ahead, I can take one more question."

"What are your thoughts on faunus?" Blake asked. Weiss scoffed, which earned her a glare from Blake while Bryce simply snorted.

"What about them? They're people, just like the rest of us. Unless a faunus does something to me specifically, I've got no quarrel with them." Bryce answered honestly, understanding why the girl was asking this question. She was worried that she may have to hide herself even more from him if he were cruel to faunus. But to him, the idea of faunus wasn't much of a problem. He'd been dealing with alien species that looked way crazier than faunus, like lizard people, some ghoulish beings, and even literal intelligent slime. Faunus were on the lowest spot on his list of weird, even less weird than his own species. If he could think of all those different species as people, and that they deserved rights, he wouldn't be hard pressed to think the same for faunus.

"That's good," Blake muttered, relief flowing through her, but not enough to be noticeable from her team.

"Now, if we're all good here, I'm going to head to bed, because I have been up for the last twenty-four hours, and I am DEAD tired." Bryce made his point by flopping onto the floor. All of team RWBY looked at each other before Ruby pouted, then responded.

"Yeah, we're good for now," Ruby pointed at him, poking his chest, "But we'll interrogate you more if we feel like you left ANYTHING out."

Bryce just nodded, then went to his own room right next door. He collapsed on top of the lone bed in the room.

"Ugh, I didn't think creating artificial energy with creation energy could be so draining."

"Did you really expect otherwise. You had no natural energy left, so to use what little reserves of your creation energy to keep yourself awake would obviously be tiring."

"Huh, fair enough. Alpha?"

"Yes, Bryce?"

Don't wake me up for anything."

"What about a Nekróspsychí attack?"

"Fine, unless it's life threatening, don't wake me up."

"..."

"Alpha?"

"No promises."

"Ugh, frick off, you stupid robot."

With that, Bryce fell asleep, and dreamed of home.

 **Glad you took the time to read this. Hope you all enjoyed it. Now, I just wish you all can be patient enough with me for the next chapter of this and He's not like us. So, I will see you in the next chapter, and as always, Stay Cool.**


	4. Canon Fire

**So, that was a long wait. I super apologize. I just can't seem to do this consistently. *Huh* Oh well, I'm working on it. Anyway, Holy CRAP you guys enjoyed the last chapter. While I didn't get a lot of reviews, I did receive a good junk of favorites and follows, both for the story and for myself. So thanks to all those of you who did. (Favorites: AnimeGamerGirl123, Gabrion, Jack Hunter, Railsaraki3, Tacoturd777, Toy2711, lazy af lul, ty1967, xXgabeXx. Followers: AnimeGamerGirl123, Gabrion, Jack Hunter, Railsaraki3, Tacoturd777, ty1967, ILSergente, JcL107, Lazy Disappointment, Slayersky123, Thundasius, and ivan12ak.) To those who favorited and followed, please, leave a review on this chapter. I'd love to hear your opinions on the story, take some suggestions, and just general feedback, negative or positive. I'll like positive more, but sometimes negative is necassary to make a change for the better, so LAY IT ON ME! Anyway, answer the two who did review recently**

 **Anonymous:** I'm glad you're loving. Typos kinda happen and I can't catch them all, so RIP me. But I'm glad you like what you've read up to this point.

 **Fan:** Thanks for the support. Hope you continue to enjoy future installments.

 **Anyway, without further ado, the chapter (which is way longer than normally).**

Canon fire

"Hey," a voice spoke softly, which confused Bryce. He only could think of two people who'd dare do that with his sleep riddled brain.

"Ellie or Aubrey, I don't rightly care which one it is, leave me alone, I am TIRED," he grumbled, rolling over in an attempt to throw the person on top of him off, but it didn't work.

"Bryce, wake up."

"I swear, if you don't let me sleep, I'm going to cut both your hair again."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea. I get really protective over my hair."

It was at this comment that Bryce realized it wasn't either of his sisters who were on top of him. Sleep leaving him faster than he could take a breath, Bryce's eyes shot open, and he looked up to see a very feminine blond laying on top of him.

"Hi!" Yang said cheerfully.

"Whah!" Bryce jumped off his bed, throwing Yang to the floor in the process. She sat up smiling happily.

"Oh, Bryce, I didn't know you were so rough. Please, be gentle."

"Yang, what the heck are you doing in here?" Bryce growled, completely ignoring her jab.

"What?" Yang asked innocently. Bryce glared at her, knowing he probably wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her.

"Get out. Now." Bryce lifted a finger and pointed to the door, reaffirming his words.

"Why? I haven't gotten what I wanted," Yang grinned teasingly. He got what she was implying, but didn't really care.

"I don't care if it's for answer or for training, it can WAIT!"

Yang's face lit up at the opportunity, and Bryce groaned internally as he realized what was coming. Leaning forward, she pointed a finger at him.

Oh, and what if that's not what I'm after. What if I'm after something else?" yang leered.

'Alpha.'

"Yes?"

'You disobeyed my previous note.'

"What do you me- oh… I'm sorry, I was busy researching some important topics."

'Next time, please pay a bit more attention then this time, because this is really a situation I'd hoped to avoid entirely.'

"Noted."

Bryce leaned forward, not blushing at the girl's actions. Thanks to two REALLY pushy girls in Jr. High, and being surrounded by immature teenage boys, sometimes himself included, he was WAY beyond used to it.

"Yang, if you don't stop teasin me, I may just 'accidentally' find a certain girl's web history, and 'accidentally' reveal it to the whole school, and explain it all to a young, naive sister said girl may or may not have."

Yang paled, realizing what Bryce was implying. "W-what… how'd you-"

Bryce let out a devilish smile. "I didn't, you just gave me all the proof I need. Now, leave me alone

Yang glared at Bryce, and tried to call his bluff. "You wouldn't dare."

Bryce grinned even more. "Try me, I dare you."

Yang looked lost. She'd never had someone so openly challenge her, let alone brush aside her teasing like it was nothing. She grinned.

"You win for now, Mr. Anderson. But one way or another, I will get you to train me."

"Hmph," Bryce grunted as he pushed Yang out the door, "We'll see about that."

Once Bryce had locked the door he let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the clock. It read eight thirty-five. Classes started at nine o'clock. Bryc stirred the creation energy inside himself, which was a good way to gauge how much he had. He found he was full, which pleased him.

'So, what's our first class?'

"Combat Class, with Ms. Goodwitch. If you follow team RWBY or JNPR, the other group of people we met two days ago, you should find the class."

'Huh, good to know. Now, for a bit of a wardrobe change.'

With a quick thought, Bryce's dirty uniform was replaced with a clean one, with a minor change. Bryce was in his formal combat uniform, which was a full camo jacket, a green undershirt, and camo pants, along with combat boots.

"Much better," Bryce clapped. "Now, I need to get some food and head to class." With that, Bryce headed to the cafeteria, with the assistance of Alpha. As he sat down with his meal, waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, root beer (don't judge), he saw Ruby waving wildly for his attention. Chuckling at the display, he walked over.

"Sup Ruby."

"Bryce, what'd you do to Yang," Weiss questioned before he could even sit down. Ruby looked slightly miffed she'd been rudely cut off from replying to Bryce.

"What do you mean?" Bryce asked worriedly. This didn't sound good.

"Ever since she went to your to ask you to help her get stronger and wake you up she's been…"

"Despondent?" Blake supplied.

"Off?" Ruby added.

"Downright weird." Weiss finished.

"Okay, I literally kicked her out of my room after I woke up to her being on top of me. That's it." Bryce defended. "I have no idea why she's acting how she is."

"Wait, did she tease you? Like, suggestively?" This question shockingly came from Ruby, which suprised the other three people at the table

"Yes," Bryce answered tentatively.

"Did you react?"

"No, not really. I'm kind of used to at it at this point. If anything, I took a shot back at her."

Ruby stared at Bryce in silence for a moment before saying, "Welp, good luck with that."

"Woah, hold on a minute there, Ruby. What's wrong with Yang?" Weiss wondered aloud, saying what all currently at the table had been thinking.

"Oh. Well, Yang likes to tease people a LOT. So, when she finds someone she can't get to react normally, she makes it her mission to use just about everything at her disposal to get them to fall victim to her teasing."

Everybody, especially Bryce, was horrified at the news. Weiss facepalmed in frustration, not wanting to deal with this situation. Blake sighed and shook her head in disgust, wondering what she was going to do with her partner. Bryce on the other hand… Bryce proceeded to bang his head on the table continuously.

As this was going on, Yang approached the table. While Bryce didn't notice, due to his head still pounding into the table. While Bryce didn't notice, Alpha did, and warned him of the oncoming threat.

'Bryce, yang is approaching the table.'

'Thanks, Alpha. Say 'Mark' if she tries anything funny… I'm just gonna… continue on here…'

'Acknowledged.'

Yang walked right past Bryce, and tried to pinch his side.

'Mark.'

Bryce instinctively slapped behind him, swatting Yang's hand away. She smiled mischievously as she sat down next to Blake.

"Heeelllooo everyone. You guy's almost ready for classes?" Yang said cheerfully. Everyone stared at her blankly

"What?" Yang raised an eyebrow at everyone. "What's up?"

Weiss sighed before saying, "You're going to leave him alone during classes."

Yang looked mildly hurt, and glared at Ruby. "How could you, sis?"

"What? I can't let you abuse him without giving him the heads up," Ruby whined indignantly.

"You're so cruel, Ruby. You've ruined all the fun," Yang pouted, crossing her arms, and glared at the table. Bryce just sighed before looking at Blake and Weiss.

"Are they always like this?"

The two girls looked at each other before shrugging.

"Yeah, pretty much." "Yes."

"Great," Bryce snickered. "They are a lot like my sisters."

"You have sister?" Weiss questioned, shocked.

"Yeah, two of them. Ellie and Aubrey."

"Why didn't you tell us about them earlier?"  
"You didn't ask."

Blake smiled and looked at Weiss. "He makes a valid point."

Yang finally stopped pouting after Ruby had talked her out of it. Ruby smiled to the other three at the table, giving them the thumbs up.

"We're good."

"Great, now," Bryce turned to his food. "I have food I want to eat real quick." Everyone began to dig in. After a surprisingly comfortable silence, before Yang broke it.

"So, Bryce, serious question here. Why aren't you named after a color? Or your sisters now that I think about it. I mean after the war it's common to do so, and I assume you guys were affected by that small town or not."

"What does your name even mean?" Blake added. Bryce nodded and double checked with Alpha.

'You think they'll buy the real reason we get our names?'

'Well, as long as you relate the art, symbols, and definitions, you should be good.'

'That's good to hear.'

"I see why you guys are confused by that, but it's pretty simple. You see, we saw art as symbols and meanings. Blue meant courage, red was strength, yellow, ingenuity. We took that to heart and rather than name people after colors, they earn a name that represents them at four years old."

"For instance, my name, in an old language called archaíos, means force, strength, and valor. I earned it after the defeat of a beowulf to save my friend Miles. Aubrey's means Elf ruler, and she earned hers during a Grimm attack at some ruins known as the Elefin castle, where she lead her friends back to safety during a school trip. Finally, Ellie is just short for Elinor, and it means light, bright, or torch. She got her name when she saved some wins from committing suicide, as well as her semblance being a giant release of bright light. She's always friendly and bright in everything she does."

Talking about his sisters hurt. He was reminded of how much he missed them. Tears welled up in his eyes of how much he missed them. The times they'd shared, all the games they'd played together, all of it. The final gut punch was when he remembered Natalie, his parents, and Miles. Tears flowed freely.

"Dust, I miss them," he mumbled, wiping tears from his eyes. All of RWBY looked at him sadly, their hearts aching to see him so broken, so lost, so homesick. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Ruby standing besides him.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll make sure you make it back to them." She smiled cheerily, before turning to the others, "Right guys?" Blake, Weiss and Yang all nodded in agreement, smiling as well.

Bryce felt his heart lighten a little. 'Maybe being stuck here won't be so bad.'

"Thanks guys, I needed that."

'Bryce.'

'Yes?'

'It's 8:55.'

'...Frick.'

Bryce looked down at his scroll, as to not look like he didn't just figure out the time from a voice in his head, and jumped up in 'surprise.'

"Oh crap, guys we gotta go NOW. It's 8:55."

RWBY froze for a brief second before Ruby exclaimed, "Oh no, not again!" There then proceeded to be a mad rush for their first class with Ms. Goodwitch.

…

"Today, we'll be running sparring matches among all the students, to test your basic combat skills, and what you all need to improve on overall. Match ups have already been randomly predetermined and I will call upon you one at a time to fight."

"Does anyone have any questions before I continues?" Ms. Goodwitch glared directly at Bryce, who rolled his eyes. He could already tell she didn't like him. Guess she didn't like his attitude with Ozpin earlier. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'Can't win them all.'

'With your personality that happens quite often with serious adults.'

'Oh, Frick you.'

"No? Well then, let us continue on with the class," She looked down at the clipboard before she called the first pair of fighters. It was n one he recognized, which honestly didn't surprise him, so he watched the match absentmindedly, trying to discover the average skill level rather than actually watching the combatants. He was rather disappointed at how low it was.

'Cut them some slack, Bryce. You're fighting in a fully trained army meant to fight other species from around the galaxy. Their combatants are often mindless monsters.'

'Still, a little bit of skill in person on person combat would help.' Alpha agreed on that point. Two more matches past, both with less than exciting results, but Ms. Goodwitch, (if he really didn't want trouble he'd have to start calling her that, even in his head) commented that they were 'good' matches. Probably just trying to inflate their egos to make them work harder.

"Pyrrha Nikos versus Bryce Anderson," A low growl came out at Bryce's name. Okay, this was going a bit far, even for him. He hadn't been that bad had he?

'You don't want an answer to that.'

'You really know how to build a guy's ego up, don't you?'

'Please, I can't break that fortress if i tried. At least your ego isn't compensating for anything.'

'Wow, that was almost a low blow. Still gross though.'

Bryce sighed as he got up and walked down into the arena with his sword, holstered pistol, and his combat uniform. The redheaded girl he had seen in the forest fighting the deathstalker walked down the the stage next to him. She smiled as the hopped down into the arena.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Bryce. May we have a good fight," Pyrrha said cheerfully, extending her hand. Bryce shook it and nodded.

"Same here, Pyrrha. Good luck."

"If you two are done introducing yourselves, let us continue," Ms. Goodwitch packed suddenly.

"Wait, Ms. Goodwitch," a kid with brown hair in armor, a mace covered in dust sitting next to him called out. Ms. Goodwitch looked at the boy in frustration.

"What, Mister Winchester?"

"Who's the army kid? I mean, I have never seen him before, and I know he wasn't there at initiation, so who is he?"

Ms. Goodwithc growled and told Cardin frustratedly, "It doesn't matter who he is right now. Be quiet and please let the match continue." Cardin wisely shut up. At that, the two combatants drew their weapons, Pyrrha readying her sword and shield, and Bryce drawing Alpha, while leaving the deadly pistol in its holster for now.

'Any info on her?'

'Yes, I've got some tidbits that might help.'

'Well, care to inform me one those 'tidbits?'

'During the fight. Good way to continue to train your defensive instincts. We've been slacking on that during training.'

'Ugh... You are easily the most annoying AI in all existence.'

'The Alpha from RvB, Church, Sigma.'

'I retract my previous sentences.'

"Good luck you guys!" Ruby shouted, not really sure who to cheer for, as she knew and liked both of them. Yang chuckled and started passing money around, obviously setting up a betting ring around the fight. Bryce felt slightly annoyed at this.

"Kick his butt, Pyrrha!" The blond boy who'd been leading the attack on the deathstalker called out from the stands, next to what Bryce could only assume was their teammates. Bryce laughed at the display while Pyrrha snickered and shook her head. Ms. Goodwitch ignored the outbursts, and called for the match to begin. The two fighters looked at each other for a brief moment before the clang of metal on metal rang throughout the arena. The two had their swords crossed against the each other and were pushing for dominance. With a giant surge of power, both pushed, and were pushed back a couple feet, their feet sliding in the dirt. And with that the real battle began.

Pyrrha dashed forward, spinning wildly, but in a controlled manner, jabbing, swingin, stabbing in a quick flurry of strikes. Bryce defended each attack as he listened to Alpha.

'Pyrrha Nikos, winner of multiple different tournaments, and commonly referred to as 'Ms. Invincible.' She wields a shield, as well a sword that can be a javelin or a rifle. She uses both for offense and defense. She's not only good with weapons, but is a skilled hand to hand fighter.'

'Semblance?"

'Unknown. Maybe if you push her enough, I'll be able to catch it, but past that.'

'Got it, make her use it.'

Bryce quickly stopped playing defense, and as he barely countered on of her swings, then kicked her in the gut. She stumbled back and looked up just in time to see a swift strike aimed for her head approaching. Barely reacting in time, she blocked Alpha with her own sword. Then Bryce's onslaught began. Pyrrha barely kept up, Bryce's skill, speed, and strength trumping her own. Her defense was falling apart and both of them knew it. Finally, Bryce's sword slipped past her shield, stabbing towards her shoulder, only for it to barely miss as it was pushed to the side by an invisible source.

'Alpha, did you catch that.?'

'I saw it. Push a bit more, I'll have an answer as soon as I can.'

Bryce dodged a jab from Pyrrha's javelin, and knocked her shield aside. He swung again as he saw an opening, only for it to be moved just enough for it to miss yet again, allowing Pyrrha to take a shot at Bryce. This cycle continued for another minute, before Alpha cried out.

'Bryce, I've got it.'

'Great, because this was getting really annoying. What's she got?'

'Polarity. Simply put, she's manipulating the metal to move it where she wants it to by replicating the abilities of a magnet on any object she bushes her semblance into.'

'Oh, so it's magnetic, basically.' Bryce smirked.

'Exactly.'

Bryce flicked a switch on Alpha. 'Suddenly, I don't regret that trip we took to Asteroid 49.'

Pyrrha was struggling. She hadn't expected this guy to be so good. She'd obviously known he was strong, flipping a deathstalker over your shoulder was no easy task, but this was different. He wasn't perfect, he'd left himself open a select few time during his attacks, but his speed, strength, and overall reaction time stopped any attack before they could make any real contact. Even then, Pyrrha had the nagging feeling he was holding back. The only reason she hadn't lost was due to the fact he was using a metal sword. Never had she felt so blessed the have her semblance.

Pyrrha watched Bryce's movement carefully, trying to predict his next attack. It wasn't impossible to do, it was just difficult to react to them in time. And they said speed and strength was always outdone by skill.

Pyrrha watched as Bryce stared at her intensity, slowly walking around her. Then to her surprise, he stopped. And smiled, eerily. It certainly scared Pyrrha a bit, as the smile was beyond unnerving. Then, she saw Bryce dash forward, at an insane speed, a slip his sword in a large swing past her defense. She immediately activated her semblance to try and pull it back just enough to miss her. Only for the blade, to slice across her stomach taking off a chunk of her aura.

'What?' She wondered, shocked the blade had made contact. She dived back as the blade made a returning sweep towards her. She tried experimentally to pull the sword out of his had, only for nothing, not so much as a flinch, to occur.

"Confused?" Bryce's sudden words surprised Pyrrha.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh, don't play clueless. The look doesn't suit an accomplished warrior such as yourself." Bryce shook his head, then dashed forward, swinging his sword down at Pyrrha's head. She blocked it with her shield, and swung at him with Milos, her sword, only to see it be blocked by an oversized pistol with a faint glow.

"Your semblance isn't working. You're confused as to why, and don't act like you're not. We both know you could pull my sword around with your polarity, but now, all of the sudden, you can't." Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror as she realized he'd figured out her semblance.

"How?" She gasped. She was so lost on how he'd figured it out, and how he'd counteracted its effects.

"Simple. I had an incident with magnetic rocks, and it was kind of a problem. So, to avoid further issues, I created a safety system in my sword that constantly changes the polarity of my sword, allowing it to avoid the effects of magnets for the most part. And because of that experience, I'm able to recognize a magnetic pull when I feel one." he smirked. He had her all figured out, it seemed, which scared her a lot. She didn't know where he came from, but it seemed his upbringing would be her downfall.

"Now, I think it's time i finish this," Bryce kicked out, but hit nothing but air. Her resolve hardened more so than it ever had. She HAD to beat him.

"I will not lose, not today at least," she growled, switching Milo to a javelin.

"We'll see about that," Bryce snorted, before Pyrrha rushed him.

Bryce had to admit, Pyrrha had finally closed the gap between them. She was fighting with her all, and it showed. She increased her speed and strength, while still keeping an amazing amount of skill within her moves. Granted, he wasn't fighting at full capacity, but still, giver her some creation and destruction energy, and she'd be able to go up against any seasoned vet back home at the academy.

Pyrrha landed multiple hits on Bryce, before finally locking his sword in her shield. Bryce flicked a switch on his Desert Eagle, and a blade popped out the bottom of the barrel. He'd need any sort of extra defense now that she was giving it her absolute all.

Pyrrha pivoted her foot to swing her body in an attempt to throw Bryce trapped sword out of his hand as well give her an opening to hit him. He didn't release the sword, and she got an easy opening to kick him in the chest as he stumbled slightly to the side. Backing up slightly, Bryce lept over Pyrrha as she charged him again. Turning, readying for his landing, Pyrrha was shocked to see Alpha implanted in the ground next to her. Clicking a button, the sword reeled in almost instantly, allowing Bryce to flying kick Pyrrha across the arena.

As she stood up, she barely looked up in time to see Bryce charging her. The fight began renewed, the sound of metal of clashing against metal ringing proudly. They traded blow for blow, dodging, ducking, weaving, striking, swingin, blocking in an elegant dance of death, neither having the upper hand. Finally, the two jumped away from each other after a particularly harsh clash.

"Well *huff* *huff* that certainly was *huff* entertaining," Bryce smiled as he gripped his sword tighter, and adjusted his hold on his Desert Eagle.

"I *huff* must agree," Pyrrha nodded, "this *huff* is *huff* quite enjoyable."

"I think it's time I even the field," Bryce sighed, as he stood up straight. Pyrrha took a defensive stance. She didn't like where this was headed. "Since I know your semblance, I figure it's only fair you know mine."

Bryce smirked as he touched the small bits of creation and destruction energy left within his soul, and exerted it as an outward force. The ground around him cracked and white mist with black around the edges began to emanate from him. Bryce pulled his arm back and in swung his sword in an underhanded swing towards Pyrrha. An arc of pure white energy lashed out and flew towards Pyrrha, who barely shook of her shock in time to dodge the projectile.

"What the-" Pyrrha started, only to be interrupted once again by a large white sword with black mist coming off it stab at her. It slammed into her chest, sending her skidding backwards. Bryce rested Alpha on his shoulder, and snickered.

"Crazy semblance, huh?" Bryce laughed as the crowd stared at him in awe, while Ms. Goodwitch glowered at him. Ruby looked like she was going to faint from the pure awesomeness playing out in front of her, at least, in her mind.

"What on Remnant? How?" Pyrrha gasped as she recovered, and stood at the ready, glaring daggers at Bryce. She shook slightly, the impact still affecting her.

"I can use my Aura to create physical manifestations of my attacks or gear. From projectiles, to armor, to swords, to afterimages, as long as I have aura, I can do it. Granted, it takes a lot of aura to do so, but I've got plenty to spare."

Pyrrha groaned in frustration. 'This couldn't be a simple fight, could it,' She thought to herself. Bryce was making her nervous. He'd been unwittingly prepared for her semblance, was barely stronger, faster, more skilled, and especially more experienced as far as she could tell, and his semblance was one of the most volatile and versatile she'd ever seen. But she couldn't deny the overwhelming excitement that had laced her entire being throughout the battle. This fight was exhilarating, and she loved it. It'd been so long since someone could challenge her on such a level.

"Well, I fear I've run my course, and I've got to end things here. It was a good fight while it lasted." Bryce said as he raised his pistol towards Pyrrha. In the stands, everyone could mildly hear Ruby squeal in excitement. She'd been waiting so long to see what that gun could do.

"It's not over yet, and I won't let it end that easily," Pyrrha smiled, preparing to dodge the shot.

"Huh, I'm glad to hear that," Bryce laughed, and looked right at Pyrrha. "Alright, in the words of a very wise, old witch, Dodge This." Pyrrha barely had time to dive to the side as three runes appeared in front of the gun. There as a large BOOM, and everything shook slightly. Looking back to where she'd been standing previously, only to see a huge hole in the wall, with small fires leading up to the hole. Bryce smiled as he aimed at Pyrrha again.

"We both know you won't be able to dodge all of these, so we can either continue and you can take a hit from this thing, or you can give up now."

Pyrrha squinted at Bryce and gripped Akouo and Milo tighter and growled back, "I think I'll take option three." Bryce grinned and the runes appeared in front of his gun again.

"Sorry, but that's not an option today." With that, four shots rang out. Pyrrha only dodge three. The fourth caught her in the chest. The resulting explosion sent her into the wall, and she felt her aura shatter as she hit the wall with a loud THUD. When the smoke from the blasts cleared, Bryce was seen to be standing perfectly still, holding his gun in the exact same position as earlier. Everyone sat in shocked silence, as Pyrrha lay on the ground, gasping lightly for air, as the wind had been knocked out of her.

Ms. Goodwitch looked wide eyed at the scene before her, and couldn't muster words for a second, before she remembered she was the ref of this match.

"A-and that's the match. The winner is Mr. Anderson."

Pyrrha looked up to see Bryce standing above her grinning widely, holding a hand out for her.

"Good fight Pyrrha. That was a fun match." Bryce commented as he helped Pyrrha to her feet. Pyrrha smiled and nodded.

"I couldn't agree more. I haven't had that much fun in a match for a while." Bryce laughed. While they walked back to the stands, Ms. Goodwitch commented on their fight.

"Ms. Nikos, It would be wise to note that in the future it would've been wise to use more ranged attacks if you find your opponent outclasses you at melee range. Mr. Anderson…"

"Yes?"

"Be careful what you do. While you did defeat your opponent, you also caused massive damage to the surrounding area, as well as endangered innocents." Bryce felt a nervous sweat drop from his forehead. He could feel the threatening aura that was flowing off Ms. Goodwitch, that seemed to be saying 'DON'T YOU EVER ENDANGER MY STUDENTS EVER AGAIN OR I WILL END YOU.' A very clear message.

"Got it, Ms. Goodwitch."

"Good," Ms. Goodwitch coughed, and the murderous feeling dissipated. Bryce began to walk up the stands, only for Pyrrha to stop him.

"Thank you again for that match. I'm glad we got the chance to fight," Pyrrha smiled, holding out her left hand to shake. Bryce smiled, but nervously held out his right hand.

"I do agree, the match was amazing, but, uh, could you shake this hand please?"

Pyrrha looked questioningly at Bryce, before she noticed his tense, shaking left hand. It was red, and had a bit of blood coming down.

"Oh my, are you okay?" Pyrrha gasped as she grabbed his left hand and looked at it. Bryce waved it off, and withdrew his hand from her grasp.

"I'll be fine, although I thank you for the concern. My aura's big enough I'll recover fairly quickly. I should be a-ok in a couple minutes."

Pyrrha still looked unsure, but replied, "Alright… if you say so." She was silent for a moment before she asked, "Did I cause that?"

Bryce looked surprised but shook his head. "No, you didn't. It was the gun." Bryce looked at his Desert Eagle in his holster. "While this gun is powerful and a great asset, I can only fire it so much before it starts to affect my muscles. When I use those amplifying runes, they maximize the damage I take, but also greatly increase the damage it does. Usually I only fire off a rune shot once or twice. Today, I made the mistake of firing it off five times. This is the sad, yet expected consequence."

Pyrrha was silent at that. "Wow… that's crazy. Do you really need that, if it does so much damage to yourself? Is it that strong?"

Bryce immediately thought of the Nekróspsychí, and shivered.

"I can say with full surety that it is that strong and that it's definitely necessary. It's kind of my trump card in a fight, and it's gotten me through a lot of tough fights that I didn't think I was going to win."

"Then why'd you use it against me? You could've won the match without it." Pyrrha asked curiously.

"Look at Ruby." Bryce pointed to the excited leader of team RWBY, who was drooling, looking at the pistol at his side. Pyrrha laughed at the sight, as Yang giggled at her sister, Blake was trying to hide her smile, and Weiss was visibly irked at how Ruby was acting. "She asked to see it in action. I promised to do so. I figured a safe environment would be a better time to see it than on the battlefield, so that's why I used it." Bryce gripped his shoulder as his arm spasmed. "Though, I'm starting to regret that decision."

"Well, I hope to duel you again." Pyrrha smiled as she said her next line. "Preferably without the gun."

Bryce grinned. "We'll see about that when we get around to another fight."

"Till then."

Both fighters went back to their teams. Bryce saw Yang holding a large stack of cash, smiling like a crazed cheshire cat. Ruby still had stars in her eyes, staring at his Desert Eagle. Weiss looked miffed, but more at Ruby than himself. Blake stared quietly at his injured arm. As he sat down next to her, he waved it off and motioned for her to be quiet. Then, Ruby finally burst.

"Bryce! YOUR GUN IS AWESOME! You have to let me try it sometime. I mean, youwerejustlike "Dodge This," thenblewaholeinthewallandslammed PyrrhaNikos intoawallwithabullet, it was so COOL!"

Bryce only understood only half of what the girl said, but told her he wouldn't be letting her try his gun anytime soon. She pouted at this and seemed to be trying to create a plan on how to get the chance to look at her gun. Bryce made a mental note to keep his gun on lockdown for the next little while.

"I have to say, Bryce, you impressed me. Beating the Invincible Girl is no easy feat. Though," Yang playfully tossed the money in the air, "I bet you were going to win from the beginning."

"Betting on a school endorsed match is a horrible thing to do, and you should be ashamed of yourself," Weiss huffed, as she glared down at the arena waiting for the next match to start.

"You're just saying that because you lost money," Yang teased.

"Shut up."

Bryce laughed and turned his attention to the small crew of people working on fixing the arena up before the last match. While his friends all watched, Bryce retreated into his thoughts.

'I know my gun was strong, but I don't ever remember it being that painful to fire. Geez, that hurt a LOT. Even with the limiters I created it dealt a crapton of damage.'

'Well sir, that' probably because it's still imbued with destruction energy, and lots of it. Had you switched it to an aura based energy, it wouldn't have hurt as much, yet stil being useful. Maybe not as deadly or destructive, but still effective.'

Alpha's explanation made sense. Destruction energy severally outclassed Aura, so while he had lots of aura and a small dose of creation energy enhancements, it wasn't enough to truly compare to the Desert Eagle's massive amount of destruction energy. For a weapon anyways.

'Well, it seems I'll have to rectify that later. I don't want my hand to be in sever pain every time I have to use this while I'm here. At least, as long as I keep up the facade of being from Remnant.'

"Alright, our next fight will be Jaune Arc versus Cardin Winchester."

Bryce sat back in silence to watch the blond leader of Pyrrha's team walk down with a sword and shield in hand. Ruby called out to the blond. "Go Jaune!"

"So that's his name," Bryce whispered. Yang looked at him, with a raised eyebrow before realizing what he meant.

"Oh yeah, you haven't really met all of team JNPR yet besides Pyrrha. We'll have to do that after class."

"Sure. But for now, let's see how this goes."

With that, the two of them turned to the match in front of them. Bryce wondered who was going to win.

…

"You sure you're okay, dude?" Bryce asked Jaune for the third time after the match. Jaune had really taken some big hits during the fight, and it was obvious to Bryce he was being bullied by the brown-haired, mace-wielding brawler.

"I'm fine, really, just a bit sore," Jaune smiled softly. Bryce could easily tell it was faked. Jaune was definitely NOT fine. All of team RWBY and the rest of JNPR, which had all introduced themselves more formally to Bryce after class, could tell he wasn't.

As the group sat down in the cafeteria to eat some food, Bryce stared at Jaune.

"Dude, I'll be honest here, you don't seem 'fine.' especially with from what I've heard is Cardin bullying you."

"Psh, what? Cardin? No, he's just teasing me."

Every eyebrow at the table was quickly raised in a questioning glare.

"He is constantly hitting you," Ruby started.

"He's always insulting you any chance he gets," Nora, the hammer wielding, orange-haired added.

"And then there's the locker incident," Pyrrha pointed out.

"I didn't land to far away from the school." Jaune grumbled.

"Jaune, you know if you really need help, you can just ask," Pyrrha said, putting a hand on her leader's shoulder. Nora suddenly jumped up in excitement, sending Rens food to the floor.

"Oooh, I know. Let's break his legs." After everyone dismissed the idea, Jaune stood up to leave.

"Guys, really it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me." That was when everyone at the table heard a gasp of pain, followed by some laughs and a girl saying, "Ow, that hurts." Everyone turned to see Cardin pulling on a bunny faunus' ears cruelly.

Team CRDL just laughed more as Cardin chuckled, "See, I told you they were real." At this point, Bryce had seen enough. He was done standing by, and there was no way in kólasi he was going to let this continue. It went against everything he'd done in the past. Standing up and marching over to team CRDL. Cardin reached up to tug the poor girl's ears once more, one for his hand to stop mid reach. He turned to see Bryce holding his arm.

"What? Hey, let go," Cardin said, trying to rip his hand out of Bryce's grip. Bryce glared at the brown haired bully, and shook his head.

"No, I don't think I'll be doing that."

"Hrmph," Cardin finally slipped his hand out, and went to grab the girl again, only for Bryce to grab his hand again.

"Stop it. Now. Leave the girl alone," Bryce snarled. Cardin only smirked.

"Girl? What girl? I only see a filthy vermin. What, she your pet?" Cardin snickered, as his team 'oooooohhhhh ed as if that were a burn. For Bryce, that was the final straw. Anger coursed through his veins. Letting go of his hand, Bryce grabbed Cardin's shirt with one hand, and threw him out one of the Cafeteria's windows. The resounding crash of shattering glass caused silence to overtake the lunchroom. Bryce lept out the window after the bully, and many students clambered to the windows to see what was going on. Team RWBY, JNPR, and the rabbit faunus walked outside to see Bryce pound a fist into Cardin's gut. The bully grunted in pain as he flew into a wall opposite the grassy clearing they were in. Cardin stood up and growled.

"How dare you! Why would you hit me?"

"Do you really not get why yet, or are you just playing stupid, hoping it buys you some time?"

"Hey, all I did was call scum what it was," Cardin yelled back, as he ran at Bryce, and tried to punch him. Bryce twisted past Cardin's attack, Grabbing his arm in the process, and put him in a backwards armbar, his foot pressing him into the ground while he pulled hard on his arm.

"You wanted to know who I was earlier, right." Cardin nodded, and gasped in pain as the heel of Bryce's foot dug into the small of his back. "Well, I'm just a kid from the badlands, kicked out of his own village, who ended up here."

"I bet it was because your worthless trash," Cardin joked, only to grunt as Bryce put more pressure on Cardin.

"You'd be wrong. It was for paralyzing a bully like you for teasing a faunus. Permanently, I might add. Can't bully faunus when you're stuck in a wheelchair and can barely move your arms, can you? So unless you want to end up like HIM, I suggest you STOP. IT. NOW." Bryce pulled on Cardin's arm with every word. Cardin felt like his arm was going to snap, even with his aura. "Do I make myself clear?"

Cardin howled in pain. "Frick you, dirt bag!"

Bryce glared at Cardin, then let him go. Cardin recovered quickly, turning around and sitting up, intending to get back at the new arrival, only to freeze when he saw the deadly pistol Bryce had used earlier in class aimed directly at his face.

"Do. I. Make. My. Self. Clear?"

Cardin nodded dumbly. He had a feeling if he took a hit from that gun point blank, he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Once Bryce saw Cardin's affirmative response, he pulled the pistol away and holstered it.

"Good. Now," Bryce walked over to the rabbit faunus, who flinched under his gaze. She was nervous as his hand reached out to her, looking away out of anxiety. Only to be mildly surprised as the hand rested on her shoulder.

"Hey," Bryce gave the girl a comforting smile, "you okay?"

The girl visibly brightened and nodded. Bryce let out a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear that. What's your name?"

"V-velvet," she responded timidly, as if saying something would bring his wrath or any of the other upon her.

"Where's your team?" Bryce was worried Velvet's team was also racist, as she sure hadn't had any help back there, and he didn't want to leave her out to dry. He couldn't be there every time she was bullied, but he didn't want to let her be bullied if he could help it.

"Detention." This response surprised Bryce, and he had an inkling of a feeling he knew why they were there.

"Why?"

"They beat up another guy that said a racist comment to me."

"What's your team's name?"

"Team CVFE (Coffee)."

"Well, if they're ever gone, find me. I'll make sure you don't have problems again."

Velvet looked up at Bryce, sincerely shocked. She was so used to racist comments and threats, she'd only heard such kind and comforting words from her family and her own team. She hugged Bryce as tears fell slowly down her cheeks.

"Thank you," she whispered. Bryce chuckled softly before patting her on the back.

"Well, I wasn't gonna sit by and let it happen. I'm not that kind of person."

"Still," Velvet sniffled, as she slowly detached herself from him. She still looked worried. Bryce reached up and ruffle her hair and ears.

"Hey, be proud of your heritage. They make you look adorable."

Velvet blushed. "T-thank you."

Bryce nodded and turned to leave, only to see the crowd of students who were silent and in awe, as well as a shocked team JNPR standing next to an amazed team RWBY, with a proud looking Blake in the back. Before Bryce could properly say anything, a voice rang out from the broken window.

"Mr. Anderson!" Bryce flinched as the voice of Glynda Goodwitch cut through the air. He turned to see a very angry and displeased Ms. Goodwitch standing at the front of the window. "Ozpin's office. Now." The finality of her words made Bryce nervous for a brief second, before looking at Ruby.

"I think I'm in trouble."

Ruby giggled, while Weiss rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Oh, you think?"

Ignoring Weiss, bryce jumped up to the window seal and followed Ms. Goodwitch. He smirked inwardly at the shocked faces of students as he passed by. Bryce wasn't a prideful guy, but he took silent gratification from the situation.

Ms. Goodwitch led him through the winding hallways of Beacon Academy. They finally entered an elevator that took them to what Bryce assumed was the top floor of the building. When the doors opened up, Bryce saw an office that looked like it was part of the school's clock tower. Bryce looked at Ozpin, who sat behind a black desk. He was reading a document while sipping from his precious coffee mug. As Glynda's heels clicked on the floor, Ozpin looked up and smiled.

"Ah, Bryce, good to see you." Ozpin said. Bryce nodded, while Ms. Goodwitch huffed.

"Ozpin, can we please focus on the task at hand, rather than pleasantries."

"Fine, I'll cut my talk. You do realize the best idea with these discussions is to create calm conversation and ease into the subject. It keeps people from being overly nervous about a problem."

"Your 'conversations' are mere drabble, taking away from the real point of the student's presence." Ms. Goodwitch seemed MAD. Bryce didn't know why, nor did he rightly care.

"Huh, alright. So, I think the subject of this talk is fairly obvious."

"Either the match with Pyrrha Nikos, or beating down Cardin Winchester. Although, I'm going to assume both."

"You'd be correct on the latter. I wanted to figure your general skill level, and talk about your reaction to Cardin's bullying." Ozpin chuckled. "Though, I can say I'm partly pleased by your actions to Winchester."

Bryce raised an eyebrow, while Ms. Goodwitch scoffed.

"How so?"

"I'd been worried about what your thoughts on faunus would be. It seems my worries were misplaced."

Bryce snorted. "I live in a world where we interact with alien species, all the time, on a regular basis. People with animal features is at the bottom of weird, intelligent species I've seen. If I think of those as people, I wouldn't be hard pressed to think of faunus as people as well."

"I'm glad to hear that. The main issue I have with this fight with Cardin will be a reoccurring issue. He's not the best person right now, but I believe he could be a great Hunter in the war against the grimm. So I don't want you beating him 24/7. Also, I'd appreciate it if you refrain from doing the same to other students. If violence does occur, don't injure them too much."

"I make no promises," Bryce sighed, the snorted. "But I'll try my best."

"That's all I'm asking for. Now, onto the main subject of today." Ozpin looked to Ms. Goodwitch, who nodded and lifted her tablet to Bryce. He watched as he and Pyrrha duked it out. Finally, he used his semblance and fired off his pistol. The blasts from the gun shook the camera off center and ruined the audio.

"You showed a great deal of power here."

"True, but it's not the best I can do. So what's the issue?" Bryce was confused as to why they were so worried about this. He hadn't announced what he was, so he didn't rightly see an issue.

"The problem is what you'll attract. Whether or not your true background is revealed, if you so offhandedly wield such power that easily outclasses everyone your age, you'll draw the attention of bad people who want to use you. That will only cause more problems than we might be able to deal with."

Ms. Goodwitch glared at Bryce. "Quite so. Your little 'display' has already been posted to the Remnet and gone viral. We already have HUNDREDS of people calling from all sorts of schools to come to the Vytal festival earlier JUST to see and/or fight you. And we don't know how many of them are good or bad."

'It seems we forgot to factor in our strength compared to this world in terms of eye-catching." Alpha said. "That is an oversight on my part, and I do apologize for that."

'It's cool Alpha. We should've both thought of the repercussions of looking powerful in front of so many people. Plus, we forgot cell phones, which is easily the biggest oversight in a modern era EVER.'

'Very true. Though, I do wonder what this Vytal festival is.'

'We can look it up later.'

"I'm sorry for the problems I've caused, and I'll try to tone it down unless it's deemed absolutely necessary." Bryce told the two professors. They both nodded, albeit Ms. Goodwitch a bit reluctantly.

"That seems fair," Ozpin agreed, "Now, as a last note of business, I would appreciate it if the two teams you monitor are team RWBY and JNPR. call it a hunch, but I have a feeling they'll be both causing and getting involved in trouble during their stay at Beacon. It would greatly ease my mind if I knew a capable person such as yourself is watching over them. As it would obviously incite problems and curiosity if they were followed by a professor, I think the safer, and better option is to have you stick with them and be apart of any big things they get into.

"I'll do that."

"Good. I think our discussion is done for the current moment," Ozpin gestured to the door, "You're free to return to your classes."

Bryce thanked both of them as he stood from the chair he'd taken residence in. As he walked to the elevator doors, ozpin called out, "Oh, and Bryce."

"Bryce turned to look at ozpin, who had an amused grin on his face. "Please, next time you decide to intimidate a student, use the gun first. I think it'll solve the problem much faster."

Bryce smirked. "Alright, I think I can do that. Sounds like fun." And with that, he headed into the elevator and descended down to the main floor.

…

"Cinder!" An orange haired man, dressed in a pristine white and red suit called out from a nearby computer in the warehouse containing all the dust any army could ever desire. The woman in question was talking to her subordinates, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury black. The woman turned and looked at the man with a weird sort of amusement in her amber eyes. She had black hair, and wore a form fitting red dress, lined with dust. Her arms were covered by similarly decorated red sleeves. Her dark glass heels clicked on the floor.

"Oh, Roman Torchwick," Cinder Fall smiled to the Master Thief, "What a lovely surprise. Have you finished gathering the dust I require?"

"Oh, I'm getting there. But I think you'll want to see a new variable that just appeared."

Cinder raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh, do tell. What have you found.

Roman lifted a scroll up and tapped the play button. A video of Bryce's fight against Pyrrha played on screen. Emerald and Mercury stared, shocked as Bryce displayed his power. Cinder's smile only grew more amused. When Bryce fired of his pistol, even cinder looked shocked as they watched the arena get torn to pieces, and the damage it do Pyrrha, how it'd punched right through her aura, when she had almost two-thirds of it left. They were especially surprised when the shockwaves from the four simultaneous blasts shook whoever's scroll it was out of their hands. The video ended in static.

"Oh my Oum," Emerald muttered. Mercury looked at Roman in astonishment.

"Is this real?" Mercury's question got a mere nod and smile from Roman. "This is… crazy." Mercury began to grin. "It's exciting."

"Oh, and that's not even the half of it," Roman chuckled, "It seems our new friend just showed up randomly and was inserted into Beacon by dear old Ozpin. Ozpin only does that for people who he's interested in or he thinks can help him in the future, and we all know what that means."

"He's different. And it has to be big." Cinder finished. She smiled mischievously at Roman. "Thank you Roman, this will be very useful information. See what more you can dig up about our new friend."

"Hey, I may be many things, but useless? Never gonna happen, my dear."

"Watch how you address her, Torchwick," Emerald growled, raising an accusatory finger to the criminal. Roman only snickered.

"Or what, doll? You're gonna swing at me with your imaginary weapons?" Roman proceeded to lift up Emerald's dual wielding pistols up, in their sickle form. Emerald looked flustered as she looked to her sides, while Roman and Mercury laughed. She stomped up to the well dressed man and swiped her weapons from him before returning to Cinder's side.

"Now, now. There's no time for such play. We need to further our plans. Especially," Cinder pointed to Bryce's frozen image on the scroll, pistol raised, sword in his right hand, the look on his face showing he was enjoying himself. "That there is a new piece in play." Cinder gestured to the three of them. "Go, you all know your roles. Do what needs to be done."

The three pawns left, leaving Cinder to look at the scroll one more time. "The only question is, what kind of piece are you?"

 **So, yeah, please review, like and follow if you want more. If you have suggestions or problems with the story, leave it in a review or PM me. Anyway, till next time, and as always, Stay Cool.**


	5. Falling in a Forest

**AN: So... I think I'm going to give up on consistent posting. I just can't seem to keep up with it, and things keep popping up no matter what I do. It's getting really annoying. Oh well, I guess that's just life. Now, I have a couple of people to thank for follows, favorites, etc. Bear with me for a moment. Thaks to Delayedmovie, Fat Future Cat, lord of something, SuperKitty4789, and Toy711 for following. Thanks to SuperKitty4789 and Strahata17 for favoriting. Also, reviews.**

 **Delayedmovie:** I'm glad you're liking the story. I hope you like this most recent chapter and keep loving these posts. Hopefully, I can post more consistently so you don't have to wait so long.

 **Gabrion:** You probably forgot about because I don't post often enough. I really do need to fix it. But never fear, Chapter six is already written and prepped to be typed. (I write my chapters out on paper before I type them so I can do some editing as I type to figure out if I like how something is phrased or if a scene works or not).

 **JuniorBLD:** Thanks for checking in Junior. Glad you appreciate the jokes and fights scenes. I also loved writing that scene where he stood up against Cardin. It was fun to write reactions to that as well. Glad you loved it.

 **Anonymous(Guest):** Typos are bound to happen. I'm human, and I can't catch all of them. I do try though, so I'm glad you loved it.

 **Phew. Now, onto what you came for. RIDE ONTO THE CHAPTER!**

Falling in a Forest

Bryce had a lot of trouble finding his next class with Dr. Oobleck, especially since his fight with Pyrrha had damaged his scroll, and was currently being repaired by one of the techies Ozpin apparently had on campus. This of course led to him getting to class ten minutes late. As he walked through the doors, a man in a dress shirt with green hair and glasses appeared in front of him.

"Mr. Anderson, I assume," the man said quickly.

"Mother of all creation, where did you come from!" Bryce jumped, startled at the man's sudden appearance. Even Alpha was mildly shocked at how fast the man had appeared.

"Mr. Anderson, can you please explain why you are late to class?"

"I was talking to Professor Ozpin, and couldn't find the class due to my broken scroll."

"Is this talk with Ozpin something I need to be notified about," Dr. Oobleck questioned, leering over his glasses. From somewhere else in the classroom, Bryce heard Cardin snort.

"He probably got in trouble for what he did at lunch."

Bryce gave a quick smirk at Cardin, signifying he felt no regret for his actions, before looking back to the professor.

"Nothing big, he just wanted to finalize somethings for my stay at Beacon. Other than that, not much really."

Cardin growled at hearing the guy who'd beat him in front of everyone at Beacon basically got a pass from the headmaster. Dr. Oobleck nodded, giving a quick glance in Cardin's direction, then spoke.

"Very well, please take a seat so I can continue on with the lesson." Bryce nodded and sat down next to Blake, who nodded slightly to acknowledge his presence, before looking back to the professor as he continued his lesson.

"Now, as I was saying before Mr. Anderson's arrival interrupted me, what advantage was it the faunus forces had over General Laguna's army in the battle of Fort Castle."

As Dr Oobleck looked around, Cardin flicked a paper football into the back of Jaune's head, causing him to let out an annoyed 'hey.' Before he could turn and say anything to Cardin, Dr. Oobleck appeared right in his face.

"Mr. Arc, glad to finally see you contributing to class!"

To say Jaune was surprised with the professor's sudden appearance in front of him would be an understatement. Jaune nearly fell over in shock, causing him to stumble over his words.

"T-the advantage," Jaune started, fumbling for more as he desperately tried to think of the answer, "the a-advantage th-the faunus had," Jaune noticed Pyrrha motioning to her eyes, "over that guy's stuff…" Pyrrha held her hands around her eyes, trying to make it look as if she was looking through somewhere dark. Jaune's eyes widened as he understood and blurted out the answer.

"Binoculars!" Or what he took as the answer.

Jaune's answer caused everyone to begin laughing, with the exception of Pyrrha, Weiss, and Blake. Cardin specifically was laughing harder than anyone else. Dr. Oobleck took notice of this and looked up to the leader of team CRDL.

"Very funny Mr. Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?"

Cardin kicked his feet up on his desk and smiled. "Well, I know it's lots easier to train an animal than a soldier." Bryce growled quietly at Cardin's comment. He really was starting to hate the cocky bully more than he already had. You'd think getting his butt handed to him would take him down a notch.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin," Pyrrha deadpanned, looking directly at Cardin.

"What, you got a problem?" Cardin sneered.

"No, I have the answer," Pyrrha looked towards Dr. Oobleck as she spoke, "It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Blake brightened and continued Pyrrha's answer with further detail.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to attack the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured," Blake looked over to Cardin as she finished her thought with a smirk on her face, "Perhaps if he'd paid more attention in class, he wouldn't be known as such a failure."

Cardin rose from his seat in anger as the class 'oohed' at the burn. Before he could do anything though, Dr. Oobleck stopped him.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Bryce was still snickering at Blake's comment and offered the girl a high five under the table, which she gracefully accepted with a smile. Jaune was laughing a bit more loudly, holding his gut laughing as the rest of the class was quiet. Dr. Oobleck appeared in front of Jaune again, and continued talking to Cardin, but looked at Jaune.

"You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for some additional readings."

Jaune slumped, before Doctor Oobleck continued. Once class ended, as Bryce packed up his things, Doctor Oobleck called out to him.

"Mr. Anderson, it would be beneficial to you to get the notes you missed from one of your classmates." Bryce nodded, and walked out with team RWBY as they gathered up before heading back to their dorm.

"So," Weiss started, glancing at Bryce, "what did Ozpin punish you with for your actions."

Bryce smiled as he answered. "Absolutely nothing."

Weiss' jaw dropped, while the others laughed. "How is that possible! Even if you were protecting another student, you should've at least gotten in a little trouble for your actions."

"Yeah, well, I'm a special circumstance. Plus, Cardin's pride is the only thing that took any real damage." Bryce smirked, as Weiss huffed.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Yang grinned as she punched his shoulder. Bryce smiled back.

"That's not all, he also told me that next time I go to deal with something like that, I should use the gun first."

Everyone went quiet, looking at Bryce in shock, his grinning face telling them all they needed to know. Finally, Ruby squealed.

"Really?"

"Really."

Ruby jumped up and did a little dance. "Yay, I get to see it more often."

Bryce looked at Ruby weirdly before speaking. "You really need to make more friends, it's starting to affect you."

"What, no I don't. I'm perfectly healthy."

Blake sighed, as she joined the conversation, glancing at Ruby from over her book. "Ruby, you just got excited about seeing a deadly weapon being pointed at people and used to harm them."

"Yeah, and?" Everyone else sighed as Ruby stared at them innocently.

"Nevermind, just forget it," Yang groaned, wondering what she was going to do with her weapon obsessed sister.

"So, do you wanna hang out right now?" Ruby asked hopefully. Bryce just shook his head.

"Sorry, I've got a lot I've got to catch up on. Thanks to me entering the year even a day late, I have more homework than you guys, and I'd rather not leave it undone any longer than I have to. Plus, I have a lot to learn about the area, as I didn't really grow up with this stuff."

"Oh," Ruby pouted slightly, before perking up again, "Wait, why don't you study with us?"

Bryce smiled, "Sorry, I'd rather do this on my own. But I promise to hang out as much as you want when I get done."

Ruby puffed her cheeks out sadly. "Promise," she said, sticking out her pinky. Bryce sighed internally, as she was reminding her so much of his sisters.

"Promise," Bryce agreed, gripping her pinky with his own.

As Bryce walked away from them as they walked into their own dorm, Alpha spoke to him.

"You didn't have to lie to them."

Bryce winced at the comment. 'I didn't lie to them, I am going to be studying, just not the material they're thinking about.'

"I know that, but it wouldn't hurt to say you're studying personal subjects."

Bryce sighed as he pulled out his scroll. 'Just enter the scroll, and do what you need to. We need to see if there's any known research that could help us get home before my Omni-energy replenishes. It's replenishing a lot slower than usual.'

"That might be due to the fact that we don't have such a strong connection. If we were back home, your creation-energy and destruction-energy would've taken four hours to replenish. Because it took twelve hours, we can safely say it takes at least three times the amount of time to regenerate, plus, we've never had to use so much at once. That could add to how long it's taking."

'That's true," Bryce acknowledged. He sat on his bed as he looked at the scroll. Alpha simply manifested himself, revealing himself to be a glowing blue avatar in a suit. He grabbed the scroll, and simply held it. Bryce watched as Alpha began hacking through all the defenses each government had to access their top secret research. As Alpha sifted through the information to find anything important for Bryce to look over, Bryce opened to window and sat on his window ledge. That was when he heard Jaune shout.

"I got some hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"

Bryce's attention went from his thoughts, to the conversation occurring just up above him. Bryce heard Pyrrha gasped, obviously meaning she was there too.

"What? But… why?"

Jaune sounded frustrated as he continued "Cause this is all I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough."

Bryce heard the shuffling of feet, as he could only assume Pyrrha was approaching Jaune

Jaune almost roared, which made Bryce flinch. "I don't **want** help! I don't **want** to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"Jaune, I-" Jaune didn't let her finish.

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand?! If I can't do this on my own… then what good am I?"

There was silence for a second, and more shuffling.

"Just… leave me alone. Okay?"

Bryce was silent as Pyrrha walked away. He was half-tempted to go up there himself and see if he could help, but he had the sinking feeling he'd only make things worse than they already were. But ten seconds later, he regretted his decision. There was laughter, and it sounded a lot like Cardin.

"Oh, Jaune…"

Jaune was obviously just as shocked to hear, or rather see in Jaune's case, Cardin as Bryce, if his reaction was anything to go off of. "Cardin."

Bryce only listened in shocked silence as he heard Cardin continue on and blackmail Jaune into doing his dirty work for him. He couldn't intervene this time. Doing that would only cause more problems for Jaune, as well as make him feel even more useless, which would just ruin his confidence even more. Bryce clenched his fist in anger.

"Dang it, Jaune," Bryce mumbled to himself as he retreated into his dorm.

"You know you can't do anything about it," Alpha commented. Bryce just sighed and nodded.

"Do you have anything for me?" Bryce asked, trying to get his mind off the topic.

"Sadly, no. It seems while they are advanced in their own right, they've never had the desire to travel dimensions. Probably due to the grimm infestation that no doubt is causing them to focus on weaponry and dust manipulation rather than other advances, such as space travel or dimensional travel."

'Huh…" Bryce sighed, flopping onto the bed. "This day really isn't turning out to be a good day." Bryce looked out the window to the setting sun and the shattered moon.

"I really hope tomorrow turns out to be better.

…

For the next week leading up to the trip to Forever Fall that Professor Peach announced, Jaune hung out with Cardin, though it was obvious to everyone it wasn't very willing, even though they didn't know the reasons why, unlike Bryce. They would ask Jaune and he'd say they were just getting along better and Cardin was being a real friend, but they all knew that was lie. And Bryce hated that he had to lie the others about having no idea why Jaune was acting like this.

Bryce hadn't known Jaune for long, but he knew he was kind, a good friend, and a smart guy. Maybe not socially, and he struggled a bit in history, but whatever shortcoming he had disappeared behind his genius in battle. He was a natural leader in a fight, and understood many basic rules of team fighting and strategies that many people took years to grasp. And Bryce respected Jaune for that intelligence. But it all meant moot if Jaune was going to let himself be bullied like this and taken advantage of.

Bryce sighed as they boarded the bullhead that would take the class to the forest of Forever Fall. As they flew over their destination, Bryce admired the red leaved forest in all it's beauty. It helped him take his mind off all the drama that was occurring, if just for five minutes. Once the bullheads touched down and the students got off the vehicle and began navigating the forest. As the class walked through the foliage, Glynda Goodwitch explained why they were here.

"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we're not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from deep inside the forest. And I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

As Bryce watched from the back, Jaune bumped into Cardin, who glared at him menacingly. Jaune whistled innocently as he held a box in his hands with the jars to collect samples on top of the box. Bryce sighed as he turned back to Ms. Goodwitch.

"Each team will have to collect four jars, one for each person. But be careful, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun."

Bryce watched as Jaune tried to sneak off away from Cardin, only for Cardin to smile, and grab Jaune's hood.

"Come on buddy, let's go." Before Cardin dragged Jaune off, he looked at Pyrrha, who was looking at him sadly, as if waiting for him to come along with the rest of their team. Jaune sighed as followed Cardin. Pyrrha looked down trodden as Jaune walked off, head falling and a sad sound came from her lips. She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll look out for him," Bryce said, motioning to Jaune, "You go with your team."

Pyrrha smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

From Bryce's position in the bushes where team CRDL was camping out, he watched as Jaune fell to the floor after putting down the jars he'd just collected. The team turned to look at him as Cardin smiled.

"Hey, great work," he commented, a sadistic smile on his face, "now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff," Jaune whined nasally, as his eyes spun around, pupils dilated. He really didn't look good, and Bryce wanted to intervene, but knew doing so know could only cause problems down the road.

Totally ignoring Jaune's plight, Cardin continued on. "Great great great, so Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect seven jars of tree sap, when there's only five of us.'"

Looking up to Cardin from his position on the ground, Jaune replied, "That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

Sitting up, Jaune looked at Cardin as he began to explain. "Well, come with me, and you'll find out." Jaune groaned as he walked with Cardin. Bryce followed as silently as he could from the pushes. They walked for a minute before they reached a small cliff face. As Jaune and Bryce looked over the cliff face, they could see teams RWBY and the rest of team JNPR collecting tree sap. Specifically, the closest being Pyrrha. Jaune looked to Cardin nervously as he asked, "Cardin, what's going on?"

Cardin's eyes narrowed. "Payback."

Jaune's glanced over to Pyrrha and muttered her name, questioningly. Cardin only grimaced at hearing her name. "What do you-"

"That's the girl," Cardin growled as he slammed his fist into the ground. "Red hair, know-it-all, thinks she's so smart. Alright boys," Cardin smiled as he pulled a box from behind him. Bryce's heart skipped a beat as he heard buzzing. He didn't like where this was going. "Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire swarm of Rapier wasps. Now, we're gonna put 'em to work."

Russell smiled, and slapped Jaune on the back in a celebratory manner. Jaune just paled as he began to realize where this was going.

"Now," Cardin sneered as he looked from the box to Pyrrha, who was crouched down by a tree, "According to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these things love sweets. I'm thinking it's time we teach her, a thing or two." Cardin pulled Jaune up from the ground and shoved a Jar of sap into his gut. "And you're gonna do it."

"Do what?" Jaune asked innocently, looking up at Cardin nervously.

"Hit her with that sap," Cardin smirked. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon." Cardin smiled as he thought he had Jaune cornered. Bryce wanted to do nothing but beat the absolute crap out of the bully, but he knew that wouldn't do anything to save Jaune. That'd just cause Cardin to rat to Goodwitch and get Jaune kicked out of Beacon. Something Jaune had obviously wanted for so long, and was willing to work hard for.

Jaune looked down at the jar of sap and shifted it in his hands, before looking to Cardin and his team. Jaune readied to throw it and Bryce's heart nearly dropped.

'No…' Bryce thought, 'Don't stoop to his level Jaune. Don't do it, don't-"

"No." Jaunes voice was no longer scared or anxious. The pure conviction behind them caused all who heard it to falter for a brief second. Cardin glared at Jaune.

"What did you say?" Cardin leaned forward, daring Jaune to say it again. And then, Jaune dared.

"I said," Jaune turned quickly and threw the jar at Cardin, "NO!" Jaune flinched as he realized the repercussions of what he'd done. Cardin laughed slowly, before looking at Jaune eerily.

"Ah ha ha, you've done it now."

What proceeded next was violent. Cardin punched Jaune, and began monologuing. Bryce didn't pay it much attention as he was currently moving to intercept and intervene. Jaune had shown what he believed in, and what he held most important. Now, Bryce wanted to stop this before it got ugly. But before Bryce reached team CRDL and Jaune, a huge roar emanated from close to the five figures. Turning, they saw an Ursa Major come charging out of the woods. It roared before focusing on Cardin, noticing and smelling the potent sap smeared across his breastplate. Russel, Dove, and Sky ran off, one of them screaming something about it being a big Ursa, leaving Jaune laying on the ground, and Cardin standing in front of the giant Grimm.

Before Cardin could move, he was hit aside by the large monster. The Ursa glared at Jaune before moving to go after Cardin. As Cardin crawled back, not having time or room to get up with the approaching beast, he reached for his mace, only for it to be knocked aside once he pulled it up. The mace landed at Jaune's feet, who only stared helplessly at the situation. Bryce went to join the fight, only for Alpha to stop him.

"This may be the experience we were looking for to get Cardin of Jaune's back, as well as instill some confidence in him. Leave it be." Bryce heeded Alpha's words, and stayed hidden in the trees.

Cardin turned to run, only for the Ursa to leap in front of the fleeing boy, and with a claw swipe, knock him to the ground. It roared at the fallen boy, before swinging again. The attack was stopped by Jaune's shield. As Jaune pushed back the attack, he struck with his own weapon. The ursa fell back a bit, only to recover and continue the attack.

Jaune was knocked around, his shield keeping him from taking large amounts of damage. Jaune let loose a battle cry as he and the Ursa ran at each other, each aiming for the finishing blow. In that swing, Bryce felt something stir, and spread through Jaune. He saw it flow from his soul to his legs and arms, strengthen them, bolster them to new levels previously impossible for the young man. And he knew exactly what it was.

"Creation energy," Bryce gasped, as he recognized the inherently white power source. The idea was ground breaking. This was a new discovery as far as Bryce knew. None of the dimensions had ever been discovered to have naturally occurring creation or destruction energy, let alone someone who could naturally wield its power. This not only changed everything for Septonians, but for humanity here on Remnant. The scope of his power, while normal in his world, was Remnant-shattering here. If someone could wield it naturally, even host it here on Remnant, it created a new spark of hope for them. It meant so much for them if they could have such a devastating power on their side.

Lost in his own thoughts, Bryce didn't even notice Pyrrha walk up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Coming out of his thoughts, he looked to the red-haired girl, who was smiling at him in appreciation.

"I thank you for watching over him. It honestly helped me knowing someone strong would be there for him if anything went wrong." Pyrrha's thanks helped Bryce focus on the world again, which was definitely needed seeing how his mind was swimming in ideas and possibilities.

"Your welcome. I was glad to help him out. I hated seeing him get pushed around like that and felt like I had to do something." Bryce waved off the praise, small as it was. He did what he'd normally do in this situation. That didn't require thanks of any kind.

Pyrrha just shook her head. "It still means a lot to me that you would do this for both me and him. And for that, I thank you."

Bryce smiled. "I hope everything works out." Bryce's face grew serious as he thought about his recent discovery. "But, I have news. Important news."

Pyrrha's face became concerned. "Is it bad? What's wrong?"

"Nothing bad, but definitely serious. I'll tell both you and Jaune later, after we get back from the mission." Pyrrha accepted this, and waved as she walked back over to Jaune, who was looking more pathetic than he ever had before with an apologetic look displayed across his face.

Bryce relaxed for a brief moment. He'd have inform Ozpin about Jaune, as well as Jaune and Pyrrha. Probably teach him how to use his latent powers, but that was all good things. Finally, things in Remnant could turn around for the better.

"Bryce, get out of your optimistical thoughts, we have trouble," Alpha's voice surprised Bryce. Bryce looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, before he began to talk in depth with his A.I. companion.

"What's going on Alpha," Bryce whispered, looking back to the group as Ms. Goodwitch came into view, followed by the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR that hadn't been present for the fight.

"In all we've learned about Grimm, Their bodies dissipate after they're killed, do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I know that. So what's-"

"Look to the Ursa Jaune killed." Bryce felt a chill run up his spine as he looked. Bryce looked to the ground were the Ursa had fallen. Its body had mostly disappeared, but there on the ground, staring at him, sat its head. And its eyes were glowing bright blood red.

…

Salem had never been one to feel nervous. Throughout her long life, she'd been accustomed to being the one with power, never threatened by other beings that lived on the world of Remnant, even Ozpin. But after Cinder had reported a new piece that was unknown now in play, she'd felt the need to investigate.

Thanks to Cinder's information, Salem had discovered the new piece was now a first year at Beacon, and was joining everyone on their trip to the forest of Forever Fall. It'd been easy enough to manipulate the Ursa Major to attack the students through her seer.

Salem had originally thought the blond Arc boy had been the new piece Cinder had mentioned. He had power, that was sure, and he was indeed interesting, but with the worry that Cinder had made about this new piece, she doubted it. And her suspicions when she spotted him, hidden in the trees. And once she had, her black heart had stopped, and her already white skin paled even more, ever so slightly.

She recognized the power that laid within him. She knew it all too well. It was the power of those who had exiled her for tampering in the powers of monsters. In wanting the strength of those who hurt them. The power of monsters that had wrecked the universe as they knew it. The power of a Septonian, just. Like. Her. Only he was much younger and held an even newer power within him.

Salem knew how much of a threat he stood if left alone. He was young and unrefined, but those were always the most dangerous ones. The ones that could sharpen instantly in a hard moment to turn into a deadly blade you hadn't known had been there. And she couldn't allow him to risk everything she'd built up to for hundreds of years.

"Tyrian," Salem kept the anxiety out of her voice as she smiled and motioned for the sitting scorpion Faunus. He walked over and grinned. He quickly brushed off some Grimm remains his white clothing, and brushed back his black hair to allow him to look at her properly, with the proper respect that needed to be shown to a goddess.

"Yes, my liege," Tyrian's insane smile would've scared many other lesser people. Salem was not one of them.

"Go take the hordes and take the silver-eyed girl. It would also be beneficial if you could take care of our new… guest." Salem said, showing Tyrian a picture of the boy through the seer.

Tyrian's smile grew more maniacal. "Of course, goddess." As Tyrian moved to carry out her orders, he began laughing crazily, showing his insane excitement to carry out the task. Once he was gone, Salem's smile fell. She ran a hand through her white hair and narrowed her red eyes as she saw the young man staring directly into the eyes of the dead Ursa Major. Apparently, he had caught on. She watched him pull out a large pistol, and point it at the decapitated head. There was a loud bang, and her connection to the beheaded Grimm was cut.

Salem stared off into the lands she'd controlled for so long. She watched as Grimm rose from the pools of black miasma she'd created so long ago. She'd worked too hard for this, for far too long. She wouldn't, no, _couldn't_ allow some young, Septonian upstart to ruin everything. And that was something that was absolutely unforgivable. She'd use everything in her power to stop him before that happened.

…

Bryce looked around worriedly as he approached Ms. Goodwitch, who was conversing with his eight friends. Ms. Goodwitch turned to say something to him but stopped when she saw his face.

"Mr. Anderson, what seems to be the problem?" Ms. Goodwitch asked, crossing her arms as she looked at the approaching boy.

"I need to talk to you. In private," Once Ms. Goodwitch shot him a questioning look, he explained a bit more, "It has to do with my 'stay' here at Beacon."

Ms. Goodwitch understood instantly, and quickly dismissed the two teams, much to Ruby and Nora's dismay. Bryce waited to continue till he was sure they were out of earshot. "Someone was watching me through the Grimm Jaune killed."

"What?" Ms. Goodwitch's face fell as she heard this.

"After Jaune killed that Ursa, the head didn't dematerialize. Its eyes were still glowing red as if it were alive, and it was looking directly at me, even though it originally hadn't been. Someone or something was watching me."

"Salem," Ms. Goodwitch cursed and gripped her riding crop tighter. Bryce felt confused as to who this Salem person was, but it certainly wasn't good.

"Who-?"

"Someone Ozpin was hoping you wouldn't have to worry about for some time. It seems his hopes-our hopes- were for not."

Before Bryce could press for information, Alpha shouted a warning, through the newly built speaker Alpha had suggested he build for Goodwitch and Ozpin's benefit.

"Bryce, huge Grimm incoming, south east."

Bryce drew Alpha and turned towards the called out direction as the ground began to shake, causing all other conversations to stop. The sound of crashing trees scared multiple students.

"Ms. Goodwitch, it would be beneficial for you to take all the students out of here. Bryce and I can handle this."

"And you would be?" Goodwitch questioned, raising her riding crop for a fight.

"Introductions later, get them out of here. They can't handle a fight like this."

Before Bryce or Goodwitch could question what he meant, a horde of Grimm, Ursai, Beowulves, Nevermores, Griffons, and dozens of Goliaths came charging out of the treeline. Many students screamed and began booking it to the bullheads. Bryce lifted Alpha to cut through a couple charging Beowulves. Ms. Goodwitch shot large icicles at a group of Ursa that were ready to attack some of the weaker students.

"Are you sure you can cover us," Ms. Goodwitch asked, as she and Bryce continued their assault.

"Ms. Goodwitch, if you get the rest of the students out of here, I can promise that Alpha and I can take care of the rest of the Grimm," Bryce affirmed, putting all his aura enhanced strength into a powerful swing, releasing some destruction energy behind it to create a glowing white arc of energy that cut through nearly a hundred Grimm. Ms. Goodwitch nodded, as she understood what he was saying. 'As soon as they're gone, I can let loose. Get them to safety.'

"All students follow me. We're heading back to the bullhead now!" Ms. Goodwitch shouted as she dropped some larger Alpha Beowulves with a wave of fire. Ms. Goodwitch gave one last look to Bryce before leading the students safely to the direction of the airships they had arrived on.

Once all the students were all gone, Bryce smiled. "Now, then," Bryce reformed his power from aura back to its normal state. Bryce felt any tension in his muscles leave him as the comforting feeling of Creation, Destruction, and the small remnants of his Omni energy flowed through him. His power back to normal, Bryce obliterated an entire horde of Ursai and Beowulves with a wave of plasma, "Let's begin the real party."

…

In a distant place, two ancient beings of power stirred from their slumber. Something in their creation was wrong. The world they created had become unbalanced. And that was something absolutely unforgivable.


	6. Fighting for the truth

**AN: I finally uploaded at a previously promised time! (Roughly) YAY ME! I did it! Anyways, I've got a couple shout-outs to do here, so let's get right down to it. First up, new followers and favorites, and just like last time, there is a good chunk of you. Followers: meepinator3000, zero-nightmare22, PlatiniumDragonKnight, Clutchvm, splithaven, and IXsomething. Thanks to those who have also followed and favorited at earlier dates, and still are checking in and enjoying the story. I'm glad you all are liking it so far, and I hope you continue to do so. Finally, new reviews for the story.**

 **Master Shorty 11:** Glad you're liking the chapters so far. Hope you keep following up on what I'm posting, I'd appreciate it if you did. Also, you REALLY need to catch up on RWBY if you haven't already, it is freaking AWESOME. Season three though, get some tissues. Trust me, you'll need them. **JuniorBLD:** Again, I mentioned this is He's not like us, but thank you again for all the support you've given me throughout this first year of writing on fanfiction. You've really helped make this a positive growing experience for me, and I'm glad to have a supporter and, dare I say it, a friend like you on this site. I hope you continue liking my stories, and I hope to anyone reading this that you'll check out Junior's stuff, as it is amazing work. I'm glad you like how things are playing out though, and that my character has some more development, especially when compared to He's not like us. Yeah, updating consistently is hard, but I'm getting there. I'll get there.  
 **Gabrion:** I'm glad you think this is a great chapter. I hope you continue to read and enjoy what I've written. Yes, I do write these stories down on paper first, for two important reasons. The first is that I like to be able to work on my story at any time and get out the main idea. Writing it on paper means I can do this at school, on a drive, just about anywhere, even if I don't have access to a computer or wi-fi. I also have a chance to self-edit the story as I type it out, as I often will catch mistakes I made while writing it. The second reason is... I'm paranoid if I'm being honest... and as stupid as is sounds because it's a fanfiction, I want to have proof that this work is mine, so while it may be over paranoid, and completely stupid... *locks manuscripts in a bank vault* better safe than sorry.

 **Okay, one last thing before I jump into the chapter. Just today, I posted the first chapter to an original story I'm writing that has absolutely nothing to do with Bryce or Sigma, but I honestly hope you will enjoy it. It's been an ongoing project of mine for a while, and I've loved writing chapters for it every minute. It's on and is under the username Deathmaywrite, as it is here, and it's called Ruby's story. It is not inspired by RWBY, so let me get that out of the way before someone asks, but I would greatly appreciate it if you'd read it and share it with your friends. It's an interesting concept that I hope you'll enjoy. Also, if someone can help me make a better summary for it after you read the first two chapters, that'd be greatly appreciated. I couldn't think of one that wouldn't give stuff away, so... yeah. Now finally, FINALLY ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

Spotting the truth

Ruby felt panicked. She'd been too focused on the fight and escaping to the nearby bullhead to notice, but now that she did, she felt scared.

"Where's Bryce," She asked Ms. Goodwitch as they ran the last couple yards to the bullhead.

"He stayed behind to cover our escape," Ms. Goodwitch's response was calm and confident. Everything Ruby wasn't feeling now.

"What! We can't leave him, he'll never make it." ruby was scared to lose a friend. She knew it was a possibility of the job, but that didn't mean she could accept it happening to someone she knew.

"Ms. Rose I may show disdain for Mr. Anderson in class, but I am one hundred percent confident in his ability to make it back safely." Yang, Weiss, and Blake were now standing by the two on the bullhead. "You need to stay here and wait for Mr. Anderson's return. We won't leave till then, but trust him to make it back of his own ability."

"I… I…" Ruby felt conflicted. On one hand, she didn't want to disobey Ms. Goodwitch. But she also wanted to help her friend. She couldn't leave him to fight that horde on his own. No matter what Ms. Goodwitch thought, no one, not even the heroes in her stories, were good enough to fight that many Grimm on their own. As she tried to figure out what to do, she remember something her mother, Summer Rose, had told her, three months before her death.

" _Mom, what I can't figure out what I should do," a four-year-old Ruby whined, "I want Kyane and Toko to be friends, but I don't know if I should do anything about it. What if it makes things worse." Smiling, Summer took Ruby's head in her hands._

" _Ruby, when your head fails you, turn to your heart to decide your actions. You'll find more often than not, it has the answer you're looking for."_

 _Ruby looked at her chest and poked where her heart should be. "Hey, if you got answers buddy, spit 'em out. I'm really confused."_

 _Summer Rose laughed at her daughter's antics, which made Ruby pout. She looked adorable, but Summer knew she had to help. "That's not what I meant dear. When I said turn to your heart, I meant ask what your gut instinct says you should do or what you feel you should do, not what you think you should do."_

" _Oh," Ruby nodded, even though she still didn't understand it. Summer noticed the false look of understanding Ruby had on her face, and sighed, ruffling the little girl's hair._

" _Don't worry, you'll understand it one day."_

As she looked back on the memory, Ruby finally understood what her mother had taught her all those years ago. Putting her thoughts aside, she tried to find what she felt she should do. After a moment of soul-searching, Ruby knew with full confidence what she had to do.

"I won't lose my friend!" Ruby shouted, jumping off the bullhead and charging of to where they had been gathered earlier.

"Ms. Rose, wait!" Ms. Goodwitch called out, but Ruby kept running.

"Ruby!" Yang's cry caused Ruby to falter for only a brief second. Yang's fear was plastered all over her face as she turned to Ms. Goodwitch. "I need to go get her."

"Ms. Xiao-Long, you need to wait here.I will go after them."

"Please, Ms. Goodwitch, I can't just sit here and wait. I need to go get her my myself." Yang pleaded.

"Ms. Xiao-Long, sit down and w-"

"I AM NOT LEAVING HER OUT THERE!" Yang yelled, her eyes turning from lilac to blood red, "I ALREADY LOST HER MOTHER, I WON'T LOSE HER!" Yang roared as everyone tears streamed down her face. She was shivering in fear, obviously scared of what could happen to her sister. "I will NOT stand by and let something happen to her. Not as long as I'm alive." Ms. Goodwitch was silent for a moment before she sighed and nodded.

"Fine. You may go, but take our team with you."

"Team JNPR would like to go as well," Jaune interjected, before anyone else could say anything. "Ruby is easily my best friend, and I want to help her," glancing at Pyrrha and bowing his head a little, Jaune stuttered a little, "I also owe Bryce for something."

"Alright. Just make sure you hurry back. I won't risk the safety of all my student for you. If it comes down to it, this bullhead will leave you behind if you don't get back in time, so be quick about it."

"Yes Mam!" All seven students nodded, before going off in the direction Ruby had ran. Ms. Goodwitch watched them anxiously as they ran. She looked up to the sky before she mumbled something to herself.

"Bryce, if you let any of my students get hurt, there will be no place on Remnant you can hide. So please keep them safe.

…

Bryce felt more relaxed than he had in a long while. He'd never really understood why, but fighting monsters with no restraint was therapeutic. As waves of Grimm were decimated by the waves of pure destruction energy he was releasing, he felt his muscles relax, his mind calm, and his soul settle. He'd been waiting to do something like this for a long time.

It also seemed like the Grimm were being cautious of him now. Almost like they were afraid of something within him. And he relished in that fact.

Bryce flew up into the air and cut through five giant nevermore with ease. Instead of falling to the ground, he simply stood there and began blasting away Grimm with his Desert Eagle. Bryce sighed as a smile sprouted up on his face. He was so glad Ms. Goodwitch had taken the others to safety. He felt so free letting loose without the fear of someone seeing it.

…

Team RWBY and JNPR couldn't believe what they were seeing. The group had caught up to Ruby only to see her standing still in shock, a squealing sound emanating from her, that was barely audible over the loud explosions and sounds of dying Grimm. As the ground shook beneath them, the other seven carefully approached the treeline and were awestruck at what they saw before them. Bryce stood, grinning like a madman, floating in the air. His Desert Eagle was ripping through giant Grimm with ease, as if they were hot knives flowing through butter. Upon hitting the ground, the bullets exploded, leaving huge craters all across the ground, scarring the face of the plains.

After a bit, Bryce dropped to the ground, and slammed through a goliath. Swinging his sword, Bryce laughed as a wave of white energy flew from his sword towards tons of Grimm, many of them goliaths. The arc of white tore through them all before exploding in a huge explosions that knocked down the Bryce's hidden audience on their butts.

"Woah…" Jaune breathed out, not wanting to stand back up, "This is…"

"Insane?" Yang finished. Jaune just nodded his head. Nora looked to Ren in excitement.

"You think he can teach me to do that?" Nora grinned. Ren just shook his head.

"Nora, if you learn to do that, I won't cook you anymore pancakes.

"Nevermind," Nora's quick reply got a brief chuckle out of everyone, but it died a quick death as Bryce decimated more Grimm.

"I knew he was hiding something." Weiss muttered to himself.

"I can't explain why, but I must agree with Weiss on this one," Blake said reluctantly. "Something was just… off about him."

"Well, there'd have to be for the queen to send me after him," Everyone jumped to their feet to see a man in a white, sleeveless shirt and white pants standing behind him. His tanned skin was offset by the black scorpion's tail that was waving back and forth, as well as his black hair. His eyes were small, and crazed. On his arms were gauntlets with two large blades folded back, and two small barrels.

"Who are you?" Pyrrha asked tentatively, reaching for her own weapons.

"Oh, who I am doesn't matter to you," the man smiled pointing to the champion, "or you," Weiss, "or you," Blake, "or you," Nora, "or you," Ren, "or you," Yang, "or-" he stopped at Jaune before leaning forward a bit, "well you do interest me."

Spinning dramatically, the man laughed. "No, I only matter to you," the man smiled, pointing to Ruby, "and him." They all turned look to Bryce, the last person he was pointing at.

"Me and Bryce," Ruby whispered.

"Why yes, my dear. And as her faithful servant, I, Tyrian, will fulfill all her wishes."

"And what would those wishes be?" Weiss asked the unspoken question as everyone readied her weapons.

"Why, to take her with me," Tyrian grinned, glancing at Ruby, before he frowned as he looked to fighting figure in the distance, "And eliminate him."

Any fear Ruby had in her heart disappeared when she realized the threat levied on Bryce's life. Her scythe was out in an instant, the blade slamming into the ground.

"We won't let you," the conviction in her voice was palpable, her silver eyes gleaming with determination. Tyrian just smiled as he crouched into a combat stance.

"Good," he snickered, licking his lips, "more fun for me." And with that, he attacked.

…

"Phew," Bryce sighed as he whipped his sweat from his forehead, "that was fun."

"Indeed," Alpha agreed, "It has been a long time since I have enjoyed myself in combat that much."

"You know it would've been more fun if you'd let me manifest you, rather than just staying in the sword."

"Maybe," Alpha conceded, "but that would've taken fun from you, and you needed to relax more than I did. Grimm on your left."

Flicking his hand to the left, the leaping Beowulf was incinerated by a ball of plasma. Bryce rolled his shoulder back and forth before it popped uncomfortably.

"Oh, that hurts," Bryce whined, rubbing his left shoulder. "I knew I should've stretched before the fight."

"Your father did always tell you you'd regret not heeding his advice."

Before Bryce could comment, the sound of gunshots stopped him in his tracks. There weren't any Grimm left as far as he could tell, and everyone else should've been evacuated by now.

"Alpha, where's that coming from."

"Treeline to the northeast. It seems teams RWBY and JNPR are fighting a skilled combatant."

"Best approach?"

"Stay in the air until you are above them. Then separate him from them. Teleporting behind him seems like the best option."

"Got it." Bryce knew Alpha was better in situations like this. While Bryce was amazing in a fight, approaching a fight or tactics behind team on team combat was not his strong suit. Which was why he'd been paired with Alpha.

Bryce jumped into the air and ran in the direction of the fight. He looked down until he could see the battle and winced when he realized it wasn't going all that well for his friends. Ren was out of aura, gasping by a tree, Jaune and Pyrrha were on the defensive, while Yang and Nora were being held back by submachine gun fire. The only ones not taking direct fire was Ruby, Blake, and Weiss, and only Weiss seemed to be able to actually do anything, assisting the other by enhancing them with glyphs. Ruby was obviously out of ammo for Crescent Rose, and Blake's sword, Gambol Shroud, was buried in a nearby rock.

"They won't win," bryce murmured. The man they were fighting, a scorpion faunus by the looks of it, had them on the ropes. He seemed to be enjoying himself, not at all worried about the fight. Bryce was sure he'd seen a couple of moments as he ducked in and out of strikes from jaune and Pyrrha, that he was giggling.

As Bryce looked for an opening to jump into the fight, he froze as he heard a scream. Focusing, he saw Weiss and Blake pinned underneath the man's gauntlets, the blades on either side of their necks. The guns on his weapons were aimed directly at their throats, menacingly. The man chuckled as he looked to the other six.

"Now, unless you want these two beautiful girls to have some very sad speech problems," the man laughed at his own grimm joke as Blake and Weiss struggled in vain to get out from underneath his weapons, "You will need to send little red here, so I can appease the queen."

Bryce knew that if Ruby went over to the man, he'd have more power in his hands to keep them from stopping his escape. As well as he'd have a tool to use against him, as he undoubtedly was sent by whoever was watching him through the Ursa earlier. The incidents were happening too close to each other for it not to be.

Bryce made a split second decision he hoped he wouldn't regret. This was going to be very risky and even harder to explain, but to save his new friends, he felt it was worth it. Sighing, Bryce focused on teleporting next to the man, before channeling Creation energy into the action. Suddenly, he stood next to the scorpion faunus. Before anyone of the nine people there could react, Bryce spun and kicked the man off of Weiss and Blake. The man flipped in the air and landed on his feet.

"Your fight is with me," Bryce said as calmly as he could, which, due to his anger at the threat the man had placed on Weiss and Blake's lives, wasn't much. The man tilted his head as he looked at Bryce, before he smiled in a sinister manner.

"Finally," he grinned, "the challenger approaches." The eight other teens stared wide-eyed at Bryce, obviously shocked at their sudden appearance.

"H-how did-" Ruby started, but Bryce cut her off.

"Later Ruby. Right now," Bryce watched as the man crouched, his tail moving idly above him, ready to fight, "I've got to deal with him."

Before the others could say anything, Bryce charged the white-clothed man in front of him and sent him flying into the field he'd been in earlier with a kick, before jumping after him. The scorpion man regained balance as he landed just in time to dodge Bryce slamming into the ground where he'd been just a half-second earlier.

"Oh my, you really are interesting," the man's face was the definition of crazy, his eyes dilated and small, his look squirrely and yet confident, if that was somehow possible.

"I'd save the banter for later, when your life isn't in mortal danger." Bryce stared at the man before shrugging slightly. "Although, I guess I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, it wouldn't do not to know an interesting person's name," The man crouched once again, regaining his previous combat stance. Bryce pushed down his instinct to destroy the man where he stood, knowing that his Aura couldn't compare to the power of destruction energy. His previous experience with his Desert Eagle proved that. Deciding to give the man a chance, Bryce smiled.

"Bryce."

"Well, Bryce, my name is Tyrian, and I have orders to make you disappear." Tyrian bowed, then lunged at Bryce. The teen in question calmly blocked Tyrian's bladed gauntlets with his own weapons. "I do hope you can understand."

"I'm not sure I can," Bryce growled, as his eyes glowed a deep, blood red, with Destruction energy darkening the edges of them. Tyrian flinched nervously as the black mist seeped off of Bryce. "You threatened my friends, and that, dear Tyrian," Bryce took a step forward, pushing Tyrian back, "Is a huge mistake."

…

Weiss was still shivering slightly as the group recovered from the fight. Blake silently rubbed her throat, lost in her own thoughts. Ruby sat silently, as she looked past the tree line to where Bryce and Tyrian were duking it out.

"How does he do it?" Everyone turned towards the young girl.

"What?" Yang asked from besides Blake.

"How does he do all that? How can he be strong?" Both teams felt their hearts drop as they heard the tell-tale sound of tears dripping onto the stone she sat on. Ruby pulled her legs closer, burying her head into her knees. "How can he do all that, leaving me to be so weak, so useless. Why can't I be strong like that and not so weak."

Jaune tried to comfort the small reaper, "Ruby, you're not weak-"

"But I am!" Ruby shouted, looking up, her eyes red from crying. I couldn't do anything in that fight. He brushed aside all of my attacks with ease. He blocked every shot I took at him like they weren't a problem at all. I didn't even hit him. I couldn't tank the damage, I couldn't stop him. I couldn't assist any of you guys. I didn't even have time to react when he grabbed Blake and Weiss. I felt so helpless. And then, he just swoops in, and saves them with little to no effort."

"Rubes-" Yang tried to say something, but Ruby didn't let her.

"Don't Rubes me, Yang. I'm supposed to be the leader of this team, and-and I couldn't be strong enough to do anything for you guys. I'm sorry." Ruby descended into sobs, "I'm sorry I'm not strong. Weiss was right, I don't deserve to lead."

Jaune felt horrible to see Ruby like this. She'd been there in his time of need, helping him feel better when he was at his lowest, being his first real friend at Beacon. He couldn't let her fall into a pit of despair. He walked up to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, Jaune smiled.

"Nope."

Ruby looked confused. That is till she remembered what she'd said to him in the hall.

"Jaune, I-"

"Nope."

"But-"

"Nope." Jaune pulled Ruby into a hug. Ruby sat there for a second before burying her tear ridden face into Jaune's chest.

"Thanks Jaune."

While the others didn't understand the meaning of Jaune's words, they understood the result.

"Ruby," Weiss' voice caused Ruby to look up at her. Weiss was still shaking slightly. "I was the one who was wrong. You deserve to be the leader of this team, not me. I was wrong to think that you were weak or unfit to lead. You are, as far as I've seen, the best choice of us all. Just because you didn't help this fight doesn't mean you're weak to us. Remember who took down that nevermore, and whose plan it was."

Ruby smiled. Jaune squeezed Ruby, helping her calm down. "Ruby, you're weak. The fact that you were able to be in the fight at all for any amount of time shows you skilled." Jaune chuckled. "I mean, if you wanna talk about weak, just look at me. I'm not skilled, I can barely wield Crocea Mors decently, and all i did in the fight was tank hits."

Jaune looked to Bryce, who was pushing Tyrian back with large, powerful sword swings. "But Bryce was different. I couldn't exactly understand why, but I just felt like he was different. Like there was something special inside him that felt… familiar."

"Bryce may be strong, but it doesn't mean you're weak ruby," Jaune smiled, patting her head. "It just means he's stronger than us."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, "I mean, we're just Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training. Bryce said it himself he's been training and fighting since he was four years old. He's got twelve years of crazy experience none of us have ever had."

"If I may add," Pyrrha said, gathering everyone's attention, "Bryce is not only more experienced and trained, but he's also had more intense training. I only began training for real when I was eight years old, and even then it probably wasn't to the extent of his. Where he lived plays a large factor into how much he can do. He had to train a lot more than us."

"Something's not right," Blake's statement stunned everyone.

"What?" Nora asked, "With Bryce?"

"Yes."

"Bryce is just cool," Nora looked confused, "What do you mea-"

"She means even someone of his upbringing shouldn't be that powerful." Weiss interrupted. "Did none of you pay attention when he explained what his semblance was?"

"Um…" Nora's mind went blank.

"Creating armor and weapons?" Ruby guessed.

"No, you dolt! He said he can use his aura to reinforce weapons, act as armor, or release destructive attacks."

"So what?" Yang asked. "What does that have to do with something not being right?" Blake looked at Yang, obviously frustrated.

"Did he ever mention he could fly? Or that he was strong enough to fall through a Goliath, or even how his pistol could've killed Pyrrha."

That last sentence sunk deep in everyone's minds, and made them shiver. The destructive power the Desert Eagle had shown had not been on par with what was used against Pyrrha. It far exceeded it.

"Not, that I think about it, he appeared out of nowhere he saved you two," Ren looked to Blake and Weiss, "He just suddenly was there. And there's no way someone can move fast enough for that to be possible."

"Exactly," Weiss agreed. "Which raises the question. How is Bryce so strong?"

Everyone looked at Bryce silently. That single question plagued their mind. But if there was any doubt in their minds about that question, what Bryce did next shattered them.

…

"You really are an interesting one," Tyrian laughed, as he ducked under Bryce's blade.

"Hmph," Bryce responded blankly as he sidestepped Tyrian's tail. Tyrial swiped at Bryce a couple more times before he lazily smacked aside a strike meant for his chest.

"You don't seem very invested in this fight," Tyrian noted as he stepped back.

"Hmmm. You're right, I'm not," Bryce looked right into Tyrian's eyes. "I'm currently trying to restrain myself from destroying the landscape in the attempt to kill you."

"Oh, dear me," Tyrian snickered, before licking his lips in anticipation, "Want to really go at it?"

"I'd rather not," Bryce replied dully, blocking another strike from the man in front of him. "I've already stated what would happen because of it."

"Really? I mean, I could just as easily go back to your friends and try to get them to fight for real, although I don't think they'll last very long, now will they." Tyrian's words got the desired reaction. Bryce slammed his blade harshly into Tyrian, sending him rolling across the ground. Looking back to the boy, Tyrian felt concern grow as he watched a black Miasma flow from Bryce. Bryce began to float in the air, and he stared angrily at Tyrian

"I believe I've already been over this," Bryce snarled, pointing his sword at Tyrian, "Do not threaten my friends. If you value your own life, do not make any notion of harming theirs.

With the barely decayed confidence within him, Tyrian grinned. "Why don't you make me."

Bryce just grinned right back, a ball of black mist gathering at the tip of the sword. "Oh, I intend to do just that, Tyrian. Although, I can't say you'll survive it."

Tyrian was going to laugh at his words before his survival instincts told him to dodge out of the way. They were never wrong, and the fact they were screaming at him that he would die if he stayed where he was told him he needed to move FAST. Diving out of the way, Tyrian barely moved in time not to be destroyed by the giant blue laser that shot out from the mist. His tail was hit, burning off most of it in the process.

As Tyrian crashed to the floor, only to see Bryce standing five feet of the ground, his sword pointed directly at him. The gleam in Bryce's eye made Tyrian feel an emotion he hadn't felt in years. Fear. The gleam in Bryce's eye was the same gleam Salem had whenever she was about to punish him for something he'd done. The thought of there being any relation between the two of them terrified the faunus.

"I do hope I won't have to repeat myself," Bryce smile was malicious, promising pain and even death to Tyrian if he stayed any longer. Before he could try and run, a boot slammed into his chest, pinning him to the ground. Bryce leered evilly at the fallen villain beneath him.

"Tell your queen to leave me and my friends alone. Otherwise she won't like the consequences of such an action." Bryce leaned down till he was inches away from Tyrian. "Am I clear?"

Tyrian didn't respond. Instead, he pulled himself out from underneath the young warrior's foot, and stumbled off, mumbling. "She'll understand. She'll forgive you." Then he dashed off into the woods.

"You handled that well, all things considered," Alpha noted.

"Thank you. Though there was a fair bit of collateral damage."

"You know what you'll have to do."

Bryce sighed. "I know. I just… hoped that I could keep this from them longer. Not get them entangled in my problems. You know what happens to those that learn Septonian secrets."

"I know as well as you do. But it's just the eight of them. If anything, we can trust them to keep it a secret and that they'll understand. And if you don't repair the area, more questions will be raised, and many of them will point to you."

"I know," Bryce groaned. He moved to the center of the destroyed field, before taking a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do. Letting out the breath, Bryce sent out a surge of creation energy. The air shivered as an opaque, white dome spread out from Bryce. The dome reached out till it covered all the damage he had caused in his fights.

"I did more damage than I thought," Bryce muttered, as sweat rolled down his brow. The feedback he received from the energy informed him that the damage went on for a mile or so, much further than he'd intended the beam to go. He needed to hurry though, maintaining this much Creation energy all at once in the physical world was difficult. With a large surge of physical energy, the dome became pure white, and began receding. When the dome passed a point destroyed in the fight, those parts were restored.

As the dome finally re-entered Bryce, he collapsed to the ground, all his energy sapping out of him. Struggling to stand, Bryce turned to where his new friends, who were staring at him wide eyed, were positioned.

"Welp," Bryce wiped the large amount of sweat gathered on his forehead as he walked over to them sluggishly, "This is going to take some explaining."

…

Team JNPR and RWBY were having trouble processing the display of power they'd just witnessed. Jaune opened his mouth to speak.

"Did he just-"

"Yep" Ruby nodded slowly.

"And-"

"Yep."

Jaune was quiet for a moment. "What in Oum's name did we just witness?"

"I'm not sure," Weiss answer slowly. "It wasn't dust related. There's no amount of dust that could fix that much damage. Even if there was the kickback for using the amount of dust it would take just to cover that much damage would be impossible to survive."

"Which begs the question, how did he do that?" Blake supplied. Everyone was silent as they watched Bryce slowly walk over to them, obviously tired from the momentous task he'd just performed.

He looked at them tentatively. Before he could say anything, Yang walked up to him and poked his chest.

"Explain," Yang growled. Bryce just grimaced at the contact and tried to say something.

"Yang, just-"

"No, stop right there. Your stupid overpowered act is causing Ruby some serious self doubt, and as a good big sister, I can not let that stand. And after the fact that you've been basically lying to us about what you can do, I think we deserve the truth. So you better give some Oum dang explanation right now or I will punch you into the ground!" Yang's hair flared up in a fiery aura near the end, her once lilac eyes changing to a deep red color.

"Calm down, Yang," Ren interjected. He seemed to be recovered for the most part from his previous aura depletion. "He can't give us any answer if you're yelling at him." Turning to Bryce, a small hint of frustration creeped into his voice. "But she does speak the truth. You do need to explain yourself immediately."

Bryce nodded slightly. "I know. Just… wait till we get back to Beacon. I have a feeling I'm going to want Ozpin's help on this."

"Ozpin?" Weiss questioned, but Bryce seemed to ignore it as he trudged to where the bullhead was still hopefully parked.

"Come on. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can give that explanation you're all dying for." The two teams looked at each other before sighing in agreement, and following after the armored form of Bryce. Bryce heard them move to catch up with him and he shook his head internally. It was going to be a long day.

 **Alright, glad we've gotten that taken care of. As always, don't be afraid to favorite and follow if you enjoyed, and leave a review telling me what you enjoyed and want to see in the future. Also, if you DIDN'T like the story or have constructive criticism for me, I would love to hear it, so leaving a review there would also be a great idea. And so I'll see you with that, and as always, Stay Cool.**

 ***dang it, I just realized I didn't do that in the last chapter of this and He's not like us...***


	7. Revelations

**This is another example of me being horrible at updating. Again, I am SO sorry that I haven't been very fast at this, I just get overwhelmed by all my school stuff, work stuff, and all the things life throws at me and forget. I really need to work on that, but that's nothing new I guess. Now, for some quick shoutouts. Thanks to those that favorited and followed, which are as follows, RagnarokNero, Vectrob11, tsukiyomi83, GoldMandalorianWolf, pipotroll1, Danny Boy 20000, N7 Recruit, and DIYEyal. Thanks so much for supporting this story, as inconsistent as it is. Hopefully, you'll be here for the long haul. Now, for the reviews.**

 **JuniorBLD:** Glad you're liking Bryce and his development. I also am glad to hear you think of me as a friend as well. For someone as accomplished as yourself, that means a lot to me. Thanks for everything you do for me, and please enjoy this new chapter.

 **ImDelayed(Guest):** 10/10 review would like to see it again, -IGN. :D

 **Anyways, this next chapter is pretty interesting so I hope you really enjoy it. Now, ONTO THE CHAPTER.**

Revelations

Ms. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow to the approaching students, specifically Bryce, as he walked to the bullhead, obviously tired. When Bryce noticed her glance, and the look of waiting on the other teens behind him, he just sighed. "They'll need to know… they saw me using my powers."

Ms. Goodwitch simply nodded. "We can do that back in professor Ozpin's office. For now, we need to leave."

Teams RWBY and JNPR just looked at Ms. Goodwitch in confusion, not understanding what was going on and wanting a lot of answers to questions that seemed to get added to by the minute.

The flight back to the Beacon was filled with questions from the other first years that hadn't seen everything happen. Thankfully, Ms. Goodwitch deflected most of the other student by saying Bryce had dealt with enough problems today, and that he needed space, which was absolutely true. Just not for the reasons they thought of.

After reaching the academy, the nine teens lagged behind Ms. Goodwitch as she lead them all to Ozpin's office. The eight teens who didn't understand what was going on just looked between Ms. Goodwitch and Bryce as they walked into the room at the top of the clocktower. Ozpin sat in his chair, as if he'd been expecting them.

"Glad you all could make it," Ozpin nodded blankly at teams RWBY and JNPR, before turning to Bryce with a raised eyebrow, "are you okay, Mr. Anderson."

Bryce slumped into the seat before replying. "If you could get me some water and aspirin, that'd be great. I really don't want to waste anymore energy to summon any right now."

Ozpin simply looked to Ms. Goodwitch who sighed and walked off, grumbling. Once she was gone, Ozpin looked to each one of the eight expectant faces before him.

"I imagine you have many questions," Ozpin stated the obvious though for what reason, none of them knew for sure.

"I have one," Ruby spoke quietly. Everyone looked to her in surprise, as she'd been silent the entire trip here, which was amazingly unusual for her.

"Well, go ahead, Ms. Rose," Ozpin motioned to the hooded girl, "I'll answer what I can while Bryce recovers." Ruby nodded, before voicing her question.

"How?"

Ruby's simple question threw Ozpin for a loop. "Pardon?"

"How? How is he so powerful?" Ruby looked directly at Bryce, who was looking sadly at the younger girl, "How could he so easily destroy those grimm and stop that guy we couldn't even hurt. How…"

"How could he save your teammates when you were unable?" Ozpin finished. Everyone looked shocked that Ozpin knew about the events that had happened in Forever Fall Forest. Ozpin chuckled softly before continuing.

"Funnily enough, I had a video of a certain young man's perspective of the entire incident, that received from an anonymous source."

Teams JNPR and RWBY looked between each other, confused as to who could've sent the video, and which of the three guys present could've had a camera on them during that entire incident. Bryce sighed, and drew his sword. Everyone wondered what he was going to do with it, till he tossed it into the air, and around the sword from a spectral, blue avatar. It was dressed in a suit, but had no other noticeable traits besides that.

"This is Alpha," Bryce's voice was hoarse, "He's-" Bryce coughed a couple time, "He's my personal Artificial Intelligence system. He'll explain what I can't right now." Bryce rested his head on the back of the arm chair he was in as he finished speaking.

Weiss looked like she was going to faint. "Artificial Intelligence?" She squeaked, looking at the avatar before her.

"Yes, Ms. Schnee I am a Singularity level AI," Alpha spoke, startling the heiress, "But I digress. As Bryce stated, I am an Artificial Intelligence, designation Alpha, assigned to aid Bryce in situations, both in and out of combat."

"He failed to mention you to us during our first discussion," Ozpin pointed, looking slightly suspicious. Well, as suspicious as a man that seems to never betray his emotions could show.

"That was due to the situation he found himself, rather than a desire to withhold information. My A.I. unit resides within the sword," Alpha motioned to the blade residing within him, "As he did not have it, and in turn, me, he didn't see a need to bring it. We also later figured it would be good for our survival if no one knew of my existence."

"I thought he knew I could be trusted," Ozpin asked, sipping his coffee. Even though he was trying to hide it, both Alpha and Bryce could tell he was slightly hurt.

"It had nothing to do with you sir," Bryce spoke up, "but I wasn't sure how many people around me I can trust, and Alpha is very… special."

"How so?" Ozpin asked. Bryce simply waved his hand.

"It doesn't matter, either way we're getting off topic," Alpha interrupted before turning to Ruby, "To answer you question, Ms. Rose, Bryce is powerful because he is not human."

There was silence in the room as they all processed this. Jaune was the first to speak.

"So… is he a faunus or something?"

Alpha laughed while Ozpin smirked behind his cup of coffee.

"No, he's not," Alpha shook his head, "Allow me to rephrase my statement. Bryce is not from Remnant, he is in fact an alien.

To say teams RWBY and JNPR were stunned at the revelation would be an understatement. A word closer to the mark would be awestruck.

It was at this time Ms. Goodwitch returned with a glass of water and two pills, which Bryce graciously accepted, thanking her before downing the pills with a quick gulp of water.

"Wait, are you serious?" Yang's mouth fell open as she blatantly stared at Bryce. Weiss scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. Space travel is impossible. Dust stops working when it leaves the atmosphere. Even the best of Atlas' research department can't find a way to reach space safely."

Bryce chuckled. "Good thing I didn't travel here by spacecraft.

Weiss recoiled. "What do you mean?"

Ozpin answered this on on his own. "That is quite the interesting story. Once that I can show you."

Tapping a part of the table, A holographic screen appeared in front of the eight students. On it, played a video of Bryce's arrival. All of the people present watched as the portal opened, spitting Bryce out. They stared silently as Bryce stood in the air, then disappeared.

"So, Weiss," Alpha said monotonously, "Do you believe our claims now?"

Weiss was silent, and crossed her arms in a huff. Ruby looked expectantly again at Bryce.

"How?" She repeated her previous question, and Bryce and Alpha internally face palmed as they remembered why they were explaining all of this. With this in mind, the two partners explained Bryce's powers. What Septonians were, Creation energy, Destruction, even a brief synopsis of Omni energy. He also gave a short version of the story that caused him to end up on remnant. The eight teeneagers listend in silence. When they finished explaining, Bryce waited for teams JNPR and RWBY to respond to the new information.

"Well…" Jaune said slowly, "that explains a lot." He was obviously trying to stay calm, but was failing miserably. His own shock was well displayed across his face.

"So, I'm confused," Nora started. "If you can travel between dimensions, why haven't you just gone home."

Bryce's face fell. This was a subject he wasn't too happy about. "I, uh, can't reach home… I'm stuck here.

"That doesn't make any sense. How can you travel here and not know how to get back?" Weiss reasoned, glaring, "What are you really doing here?"

"She makes a fair point," Blake added tentatively, "You must have a reason." Bryce felt a small bit of irritation and anger spike within him at the suggestion. It felt like an accusation that he'd willingly leave his parents, Aubrey and Ellie, ...Natalie. His anger grew as more people added to this with similar questions.

"If your story of how you got here is a lie, are you sisters a lie? Is everything we know about a lie?"

"Is anything you've told us the truth?"

"Why are you still here?"

"What do you want with us?"

It didn't take long for Bryce's anger grow to the point of exploding. And explode it did.

"YOU THINK I WOULD BE HERE IF I COULD GO HOME!" Bryce's voice reverberated around the office, scaring everyone in the room, except Ozpin and Alpha, who had seen the outburst coming.

"You think I would willingly leave everyone I know and love for some obscure, worthless desire?" Tears welled up in Bryce's eyes as he continued. "What in all of Remnant could you possibly have that I couldn't get back home already?" No one responded, so Bryce pressed forward.

"Well let's just TROUBLESHOOT here if you can't think of anything. Fun? Nope, I have loads of fun at home, especially with people I know! Friends? Definitely didn't need to come here for that, I have so many good friends at home? Dust? Dust is worthless to me in a society with powers that put those worthless crystals to shame. Love?" Bryce felt hot trickles of water flow down his cheeks. "I already have the greatest family in the world that I love with all my heart, and a girlfriend I wouldn't trade the omniverse for."

Weiss wanted to say something, but Bryce glared at her, cutting her off. "Maybe it's so I can fight in a new world, against new opponents. Nope, that's never mattered for me, I've been fighting for my life since I was four years old! Grimm? Definitely not, I already have soulless hell demons that try to slaughter us on a daily basis, only difference is THEIR SUCCEEDING!" Teams RWBY and JNPR felt their hearts ache more and more as Bryce went on, regret eating away at them. They felt the weight of their words as Bryce sobbed.

"Maybe I wanted to sit in a world I didn't know with no one I cared for and wonder if they're dead, if they've been killed by Nekropsychi or murdered by another warring species that already hates us. Maybe I wanted to sit here and fear that when I finally get back, they won't be there, instead I'll only find gravestones marking where their now six feet under, or even worse, they'll be one of the monsters trying to kill me!"

Bryce sat silently for a second, grinding his teeth together. "Nope, it sure as hell wasn't that."

Everyone sat in silence as Bryce cried, all the fears and worries he'd bottled up since he got here finally taking over, dominating his thoughts. Alpha turned to the eight teens. They all looked ashamed of themselves, Weiss and Blake especially, as Ozpin was silently watching them and Ms. Goodwitch scowled.

"I'm ashamed of you all," she glared at each guilty teen individually. "How dare you accuse someone like that when you know nothing of what's going on and what they've been through."

Ruby looked at Bryce, tears in her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry." She looked like she may join Bryce in her sobs, her own shame and sorrow reflecting sadly in her silver eyes. Bryce didn't respond. He just looked at her before wiping his eyes, and trying to calm down.

"When traveling between dimensions, there's a problem we always have to worry about known as dimensional weight. This omniversal phenomenon makes it so that when you travel to another dimension, it takes more power to travel back home. Think of it like diving into a pool with a weight attached to your foot. When you travel into the pool, it's easy jumping in, but the weight and the resistance of the water makes it even harder to get back out. Each pool has a different weight that attaches to you."

"Your dimension has a huge weight on it, making it nearly impossible to leave. That's why Bryce is here," Alpha looked to his wielder forlornly, "because he has no way to allow him to leave."

"And I don't know how long it'll be till I have the ability to go home…" Bryce admitted slowly, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself, if not to just make explaining his situation, "The amount of power and energy I need to get home is massive, and I currently don't have the ability to generate that much energy very fast… I may not ever have enough to make the return trip."

Everyone was silent for a minute. The emotion of everything that he was going through was more than they had expected. They all could imagine what he was going through, and the feeling wasn't good. To be suddenly separated from everything you knew in a moments notice, and not know if when you return, if you return at all, that no one will be there when you do.

Bryce broke the silence after another full minute of silence. "So…" Everyone looked up at him as he spoke, "anything else you want to ask?"

Everyone was quiet, trying to figure out what was most important to them to ask. Pyrrha was the first to figure out what she wanted to say. "So," she whispered, "Why are you going to beacon then? I mean, you obviously don't need too, you're already have more training than the rest of us. What's making you stay here and attend Beacon?"

Bryce nodded at the question, acknowledging it as a good question to ask. His previous anger and despair finally diminishing enough for him to answer properly. "Honestly… it's because of two things. I really needed somewhere to stay, which Ozpin graciously offered me," Bryce said, nodding his thanks to the headmaster, who returned the gesture, and hope."

"Hope," Jaune asked, confused, "What do you mean hope?"

Bryce looked around as if he were contemplating something before he finally spoke up.

"To put it bluntly, at home, we've nearly lost hope. We're fighting what feels like a losing war, and it will never end, not matter what we do. But here," Bryce motioned to the view of Vale outside the window, "you're at a stalemate. You're in an era of peace, and while you're not destroying the Grimm entirely, you are for the most part stopping them. We wanted to help you keep that while we're here."

Blake looked at Bryce silently before voicing her silent concern. "Earlier you spoke of other warring species. And now you say that you're fighting a losing war. I feel like that implies more than just fighting monsters. What war are you fighting? Against who?"

Bryce stiffened and paled visibly. Even Alpha's projection faltered. This was obviously not a subject they like to talk about. It was only after several seconds of silence before Alpha slowly spoke.

"Bryce's species… the Septonians… haven't been received very… kindly, in our universe."

Ozpin arched his eyebrow as Goodwitch's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, haven't been received very kindly?"

Alpha responded as slowly as he had the first time. "Septonians had been targeted for their naturally brilliant minds as slaves, forced to build and create tech for other species. The constant attacks and kidnappings kept them from being able to build a stable military force to defend themselves with. It wasn't until the discovery of creation energy that this changed. After that, the Nekropsychi appeared and began to wreak havoc on the universe."

"Because the birth of the Nekropsychi was due to the Septonians, some species discriminated against Septonians. They weren't allowed to travel to planets they controlled, and they tried to not trade with them for as long as they could. It wasn't until Septonians became the universal super power that they changed their ways, but even then they're still hated and attacked on a daily basis, by factions that fear their continued existence or just hate Septonians." Alpha looked cautiously at Bryce, who was grimacing as Alpha recounted his species history.

"We've been called a lot of things over the years." Bryce said solemnly, wincing as he said each name afterwards. "Monsters. Mutants. Scum. Demons. Kako. The most common is diestramménos diávoloi, which loosely translates to distorted devils."

"Every week there's news of a terrorist attack in our major cities. Many of these attacks are secretly funded by other species governments, even though they'll always deny it and act like they're on our side. All because we're different. It seems even the universe hates us."

"We're both hated and feared," Bryce said, his voice growing hoarse once again, "Too powerful to have anyone do anything to us, and yet too different and unknown for people to think of as normal and not discriminate against."

Blake felt guilt grip her heart. She recognized what that was like. That exact sentiment was how people felt about faunus. Ever since the White Fang's turn to violence, people didn't as actively act out against faunus as they used to. Yet they were still mistreated and discriminated against by some. And others had only stopped out of fear of retribution from the White Fang. And here she'd been accusing him of ill intentions all because of what he was, and his situation. Just like so many others had done to her before she'd hidden her heritage behind a small, black bow.

Bryce sat quietly for a moment before shaking his head, and putting on a smile. "Surely that can't be it. What else do you want to know?"

Yang finally spoke. "Yeah, I got one." Bryce looked at her, a questioning look on his face. He hadn't expected her to have a question, if he was being honest with himself.

"Shoot."

"How are you so freaking strong!" Yang yelled exasperated, throwing her hands into the air. She was obviously trying to lighten the mood. It worked. Everyone chuckled at her frustration as Bryce laughed.

"Thanks," Bryce said as he finally regained control over himself, "I needed that."

"I'm serious," Yang huffed, crossing her arms underneath her chest, "I wanna know how you're strong enough to literally fall through a Goliath! That should be impossible!"

"Well," Bryce smiled, "That would be because Septonians are stronger than they look. Unaided by Creation energy I can bench around four thousand pounds, with Creation energy, that raises up to twenty thousand pounds. Then, by simply having Omni-energy, not even using it to aid myself, it jumps to two-hundred thousand pounds."

Everyone's jaw dropped as Bryce laughed at their faces. "WHAT!" Yang shouted, "You can't be serious."

"He's perfectly serious," Alpha said, smiling as well, "His max recorded strength was about three hundred thousand pounds in a single instance. And he's nowhere near the strongest. The strongest Septonian recorded was about to constantly lift three million pounds."

Now Bryce could see everyone's head begin to smoke. Bryce was sure he saw a blue screen in Yang's eyes, as smoke cartoonishly emanated from her forehead. Ruby noticed this and waved her hand in front of her sister, getting no response. She giggled as she looked at Bryce.

"I think you broke her." Bryce just snickered nodding.

"No kidding."

Everyone began to ask Bryce simple, quirky questions about his life at home, his powers, and his training. Bryce was one-hundred percent sure that he wouldn't be making pancakes for Nora with creation energy. He had a sinking feeling that would end badly.

Alpha smiled as he watched everyone began to laugh and interact with Bryce in a more relaxed manner, the questions they were asking him less serious. He went to comment on a particularly invasive question from Yang about Natalie, when he suddenly stiffened, and his astral body flashed red. Bryce noticed the small change, and the calm, happy feeling that had slowly been building up shattered into pieces.

"Alpha, please tell me you're just glitching." Alpha didn't respond. Instead his avatar disappeared the, and the sword flew to Bryce's grip. Everyone backed up as Bryce began to pale. The ten people who originated from Remnant shivered at the tone difference.

"Nekropsychi presence detected. Engaging in combat precautions." RWBY, JNPR, Ozpin, and Ms. Goodwitch watched in silent shock as Bryce's uniform disappeared beneath a set of combat armor that folded out across his body. The armor was a reflective blue, with purple conduits connected to different parts of the suit. A helmet covered his face, only being able to see through the black visor that covered most of the front of the helmet.

"Direction?" The voice that spoke didn't sound like Bryce's voice. It was older, and more robotic.

"Approaching Beacon, from the west. About five seconds out," Bryce turned to the appropriate direction, before glancing at Ozpin.

"Evacuate the students. There's not guaranteeing that they won't get hurt or killed in the oncoming fight."

Ozpin nodded, but didn't get the chance to do anything as a demonic scream erupted nearby. The screech froze all of those within the office except Bryce, all of them overcome by a powerful layer of fear.

Bryce cursed when he realized what was happening. The armor he wore was specifically designed to help the wearer combat Nekropsychi. It not only provided physical protection, but suppressed the genes that caused fear, panic, and distress to emerge in one's brain. And he had no way to give any of the ten people in the room a similar set of armor.

Looking to the window, which had shattered as soon as the scream had occurred, Bryce looked on to see the monster he'd come to know and fear. A black, humanoid figure stood in the sky outside the office. It's arms, legs, and chest were lightly covered by thick, white, boney armor. On it's face was a white mask, with only slits revealing its glowing red eyes that seemed to emanate evil intent. Half of the mask was covered in curving red stripes. A tail that had a sharp, needle like blade at the end flicked back and forth as it stood stock still.

Bryce readied himself for a fight. Nekropsychi almost always targeted Septonians above anything else, as that was their natural prey. Unfortunately, this seemed to be one of the rare times they didn't.

Bryce's mind processed what was happening long before the others did. Aided by Alpha's enhancements, Bryce watched as the monster charged at speeds invisible to the human eye towards a small red figure. Bryce reacted on instinct.

When Ruby's fear ridden mind finally processed what was happening, she gasped in horror. Standing in front of her, was an armored Bryce, the monster's arm sticking through his stomach. The creature looked blankly at the visor in front of it, a sword poking out of its own chest. Bryce was gasping for breath, pain causing his body to begin to shake uncontrollably.

When the creature spoke finally in a double toned voice, everyone shivered. "You don't belong here.

…

Universe H1

Bryce's Home Universe

On Septon, five people simultaneously felt a sever pain hit their stomachs, and fear gripped their hearts.

…

Ellie was Barely listening to what the teacher in her third grade class was saying. She was too lost in recent events. Her friend, her brother, her hero had disappeared.

A few weeks ago, Ellie had come home with her sister Aubrey, only to discover her parents in shambles, sitting with other military personnel. It didn't look like one of their normal meetings.

It was then she'd learned from her heartbroken mother that Bryce had accidentally traveled to another dimension and they couldn't reach him. He'd been declared M.O.D. Missing Outside the Dimensions.

Bryce had been Ellie's hero after saving her life during a skiing trip gone wrong. He'd always been there to listen to her, and tried to comfort her whenever something went wrong. She'd often found herself going to him looking for advice rather than her parents.

Ellie sighed as she looked down at the blank paper she was supposed to be writing notes down on. She'd been to worried about her brother to really care about school.

Suddenly, a fierce pain shot through her stomach, and panic gripped her heart. Even though she was young, she recognized the feeling. It was the Cardia connection.

The Cardia connection was something ingrained in Septonian DNA. Septonian DNA, unlike other species, was directly linked to their souls. Thanks to a weird evolutionary trait they'd developed, Septonians were able to develop deep, binding connections through their souls with other they felt deeply for, most commonly among family and lovers. The connection let all those who had such a connection with someone feel the pain another felt in a life threatening situation. It was nature's way of letting them know someone they loved was in danger so they could possibly get them help. Unfortunately, Ellie's eight year old body couldn't take that kind of pain.

Ellie fell from her desk, screaming in pain, clutching her stomach. She cried as the pain burned at her skin. The words and motions around her blurred as she sobbed. She barely registered her teacher calling the office for medical personnel. All she could think about was her brother, who for all she knew, was now dying, and cried.

…

Aubrey Anderson was indulging her grief in her story. Her book, Shattered Pieces, was doing well online, but she barely cared about it. Her best friend and brother was gone.

She'd been informed of Bryce's disappearance once she got home from school with Ellie. She was only a year and a half younger than her brother, but they were like best friends. They hung out all the time, going to restaurants, playing at the arcade with his other friends, watching movies. He'd been her rock of a brother, especially because she herself was such a tomboy and didn't relate well with the other girls in the academy.

Aubrey looked at the words she'd typed up on her laptop before she'd groaned and slammed the lid down. She wasn't feeling it today. She couldn't properly grasp the emotions she needed for this chapter. Not with how she was feeling right now with recent events.

Before she could sit up from her bed, she felt pain assault her stomach, and her mind became overwhelmed by panic. She cried out in pain and surprise, and curled into a ball in the bed.

"No," Aubrey sobbed, recognizing the devastating feeling of the Cardia connection. She recognized just who it was feeling the pain as her brother became the sole image in her head, one with him impaled on the hand of a Nekropsychi.

"Please, no…" Aubrey whispered, curling up tighter as the pain began to slowly ebb away. "Don't take my brother away from me again. Not again, please."

…

Zach and Eliza were frantically working on multiple computers in a private lab they'd rented from a friend. The council had decided to do nothing to save Bryce at the moment. Which, in the grand scheme of things, made sense. Bryce wasn't a necessary part of the council's plans, and they had much more important things to worry about, such as the large amount of Nekropsychi attacks, terrorist attacks, and multiple warring faction attacking them, thankfully unsuccessfully, on a daily basis. Btu that wasn't enough for the two of them. They wanted their son back now, and weren't just going to sit around and wait for the council to get to it.

"Are you getting anything?" Zach gasped in between breathes as he exerted waves of Omni-energy in an attempt to draw the universe designated RWBY closer to them so they could at least figure out a way to save their son.

Eliza shook her head in sad frustration. "Nothing. Not even a blip on the scanners."

"Damn it!" Zach yelled angrily, slamming his hands on the table in front of him. "Why can't we reach it?" Eliza sat in a nearby chair, and rested her head in her hands.

"Days of trials, study, and tests only to get nothing out of it," Eliza whispered shaking her head slowly. "What did we do to have this happen to us? What did Bryce do?!"

Zach walked over to his wife and hugged her tightly, trying to comfort himself as much as he tried to comfort her. "Nothing honey. Absolutely nothing."

Before he could say more, they both felt pain stab through them, and a brief image of their son stabbed through the stomach by the monster of their nightmares. Zach grunted in pain, and Eliza felt the wind get knocked out of her.

"No…" Eliza panicked, gripping her husband tightly. "Please no. Tell me you didn't feel anything just now."

Zach didn't respond, instead hugging her tighter. Eliza only sobbed.

"No, he can't die. Not when I can't be there for him." The grimm words were noticed by Zach, but he was unsurprised by them. The reality of their life was that it was expected they would die in battle or from an attack. The only comfort they had to gain was to die with the ones they loved around them.

"He won't die," Zach cooed softly, stroking Eliza's blond hair as his own tears slid down his cheeks. "He won't die us yet."

Looking up to the sky, Zach spoke softly. "Archon Almighty, please don't let him die."

…

The knocking on Natalie's door barely phased the sixteen year old girl. She sat despondently on her bed, staring silently at the blue, blank walls surrounding her room.

"Natalie, honey?" Natalie's mother called sweetly from the other side of the locked, wooden door. "Please, open the door."

Natalie didn't respond, instead electing to pick up a photo laying next to her. It was a picture of Bryce and her when they were eleven years old, playing games at the fair. They were both smiling at the camera, Bryce still holding Natalie's hand, as he'd been trying to help her throw the rings to beat the game.

"Natalie, you need to eat something," Her father's voice said from outside her room, "Only eating breakfast isn't healthy, dear."

"Please," her mother knocked once more, "Just talk to us. We want to help."

Natalie finally set down the photo and looked towards the door to her room .She knew her parents wanted to help and that it hurt them to see her like this. But she wasn't sure she could face them like this, let alone talk to them about this. She was too lost to want to work it out.

Before she could debate with herself any further, she screamed as pain erupted in her stomach. She felt unnatural fear grip her heart and a burning sensation grow from where the pain originated. The understanding of whose pain this was and the image that came along with it only caused her to scream more as tears cascaded down her face.

"Natalie, what's wrong!" Her father screamed. Natalie didn't respond as she was too overcome by grief and fear to respond. There were two solid bangs before her door crashed to the ground. Her father and mother rushed into the room, her father gathering the sobbing girl into his arms.

"Dad, I felt. I felt him get hurt," Natalie sobbed as she gripped her father's shirt. Her father didn't ask who, he knew who it was she was talking about.

"Shh, shh, it's okay hon, it'll be okay," he tried to comfort his daughter, but to no avail.

"NO!" Natalie yelled, burying her head further into his chest, more tears finding their way to the surface. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Whispering to herself quietly, she wished for a miracle. "Please don't leave me."

 **AN: Well, that just got serious pretty quick. Also, if any of you noticed, Shattered Pieces is the actual name for my friend aubreydemoux's story on Wattpad. Hopefully you'll all be willign to check it out, as it's a great story. It's currently in the top 5 for the werewolf category which is dang impressive, and I'm super happy to see her doing so well. I hope she continues to be successful, and I hope you guys can support her in her growth. But I digress. If you like the chapter favorite and follow it, and drop a review on what you liked. If you didn't like it, don't be afraid to leave a review telling me why, I always love to hear some constructive criticism. It always helps me build a better prodcut for you to enjoy. Well then I will be seeing you lovely people later, and as always, Stay Cool.**


	8. Revelations Cont

**AN: Because of the lack of response to the last chapter, I'm mostly gonna skip a detailed Author Note this chapter. Either way, enjoy.**

Revelations: Part Two

Bryce used what little strength he had to push back the Nekropsychi that had penetrated his stomach. With sufficient space between him and his attacker, he directed most of what remained of his creation energy to regenerate the damage instantly and repair the damage to the armor. The repercussions of doing this instantly hit him just a moment later.

Bryce opened up his helmet to breath in gasps of air as pain racked his body. The Nekropsychi didn't wait for him to recover, as it tried to kick him while he was down. Bryce barely responded in time, diving out of the way, before rolling into a combat stance.

" _Bryce, you need to evacuate everyone here,_ " Alpha's voice was monotone, his base programming causing him to focus on nothing more than safely and quickly dispatching of the Nekropsychi.

"That's a great idea, but I can't exactly get them to move!" Bryce shouted as he closed his helmet again, any growing fear he had disappearing as the suits functions kicked in once again.

" _Acknowledged. Scanning nearby options for possible solutions,_ " Alpha was silent as Bryce began to battle the monster in the office in earnest. Bryce charged the armored demon before swinging his sword. A boney blade manifested from the Nekropsychi arm, blocking the strike. Bryce spun the blade in his hand throwing the Nekropsychi's arm to the side, opening it up to a shot from Bryce's left hand, or more specifically, the Desert Eagle that resided within it. The impact of the bullet caused the Nekropsychi to stumble backward, but otherwise seemed to do no more outward damage. The Nekropsychi only growled before disappearing in a moment of pure speed that left it invisible to the human eye. Keyword being human.

Bryce deflected the strike aimed for his heart, blood pumping as the Nekropsychi spun and kicked him in the side, sending him rolling across the floor. Rolling to his feet, Bryce grimaced as the Nekropsychi continued its brutal onslaught. It was strong, and insanely fast. It was probably stronger than him, but he hoped it wasn't by very much. For what seemed like hours, even if it was only five minutes, the two combatants danced one of the most deadliest dances ever to happen on Remnant. It was faster than any huntsman could move and the strength of the blows they traded shook the very air.

As the two fought, panic overtook Beacon, many students believing it to be an remnant quake or grimm attack. As they all rushed for the safety shelters, they failed to notice the copious amounts of smoke and debris coming from the headmaster's office. Their rush to get to the shelters putting them further and further away from one of the most dangerous monsters to roam Remnant.

Bryce was breathing heavily as he and the Nekropsychi both took a step back, creating a brief lull in their duel for dominance. It was then Alpha voiced his findings.

" _Possible solution found. Subject Lie Ren, age Seventeen, home Kuroyuri, orphan, close relations to Nora Valkyrie,"_ Alpha spouted off facts for a second.

"Get to why this is important, Alpha!" Bryce shouted as he again attacked the creature of his nightmares.

" _Semblance: Mask of Emotions. Causes Ren and those he imbues with his semblance to be less affected or even immune briefly to negative emotions. Hides him from sensing powers of Grimm."_

"Where are you getting this?!" Bryce yelled in annoyance. If Alpha had known this the whole time, and just chosen not to tell him, he wouldn't be very happy about it.

" _Personal Student Files, Professor Ozpin's Archive._ " That explained a lot actually.

"Well," Bryce grunted as he blocked a particularly powerful blow that shattered a nearby wall, "What do you suggest."

" _A necessary use of energy to briefly free student Lie Ren and allow him to use his own semblance."_

"I can't exactly do that right now," Bryce pointed out as he swung his sword in an ar. "I'm using my remaining creation energy to enhance myself, and we both know destruction energy isn't too good at positive things."

 _Acknowledged. Only possible solution is the use of Omni-energy,_ " Bryce choked slightly, causing him to take a particularly powerful kick that sent him careening higher into the sky.

"Are you crazy Alpha, I can't use that!" Bryce cut off the offending limb that had hurt him before only for it to regrow it again. Bryce silently cursed that broken ability of theirs to regenerate damage without creation energy.

" _I see no physical or mental problems that would stop you from being able to use omni-energy,"_ Alpha stated.

"You know what I mean!" Bryce shouted, trading more frenzied blows with the Nekropsychi.

" _Saving your energy would endanger yourself, and almost assuredly doom all those that remain in the office. It would also increase your chances of being killed during the fight. The only way to give you a possible chance of survival, as well as everyone else's survival, no matter your condition, would be to use omni-energy."_

Bryce growled in anger, but conceded Alpha's point. He hated what he had to do. His only possible way home would be through the use of omni-energy. Using it would make him wait even longer to get home. But it was the only way he could save everyone present. And no matter how hard he looked, there was no way he was just going to let them die. If he were to do that, he might as well kill them all himself. And he couldn't find the lack of a heart to do that.

Bryce dropped beneath a foot aimed for his head before using the last of his creation energy to teleport in front of Ren. Putting a hand to the green monk's chest, Bryce pushed the omni-energy through Ren's nerves, suppressing Ren's own genes that were petrifying his muscles and mind from terror. Ren slowly began to move again, and looked at Bryce in confusion.

"What-"

"Activate your semblance." Ren seemed taken aback.

"Just do it!" Miraculously trusting Bryce, Ren activated his semblance a grey aura surrounding, dulling his regularly bright colors. As soon as he did, another scream emanated from the humanoid monster.

Ren shivered but didn't freeze up again. Bryce blocked the Nekropsychi's blade as it appeared in front of him instantly. He fell into a power struggle with his opponent before he shouted at Ren.

"Use your semblance on everyone in here and get somewhere safe. I can't fight this thing at full capacity with you around."

Ren nodded his head hesitantly before running to the other stock still figures in the office. Bryce ducked underneath the Nekropsychi's other fist before slashing it across the chest. Sparks danced off the boney armor covering its chest, a deep gash carving itself into the chestplate-like bone.

The Nekropsychi growled, before kicking out at Bryce. He dodged to the left, and quickly blocked a blade meant for his heart. Bryce withdrew his pistol once again, as he'd put it away earlier in their previous power struggle. Quickly, he settled himself into the familiar style he'd grown accustomed to using back home.

"Bryce!" Bryce didn't turn as his leg got kicked, before having to scramble to block another strike that tried to take advantage of the moment.

"Not now, Ruby. You need to get out of here," Bryce groaned as he pushed against the pressing weight.

"We can help," Ruby insisted. Giving a brief glance behind him, he could easily see the other ten people that were at the top of the clock tower. Their vibrant colors were dulled by Ren's semblance.

"I told you," Bryce growled, struggling as much as he could against the Nekropsychi, "to get out of here. You'll only make this harder for me." To emphasize his point, Bryce let out a surge of destruction energy, letting it deteriorate the ground, bits of concrete and glass, Floating in the air before breaking into pieces and disappearing.

"You're safer running to safety. I can take this thing, but," Bryce grunted as the Nekropsychi lashed out, "Not with you all here."

"But-"

"GO!"

Reluctantly, Ruby nodded, before leading her team and team JNPR to the stair, Professor Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch taking up the rear. As soon as they were gone, Bryce sighed as he drew upon the little Omni-energy he had within him, its power spreading through his body. The clouds began to swirl above him.

Bryce was startled by hearing a double-toned voice once again. "Your powers are a threat to us."

It was the Nekropsychi speaking, but he had a feeling it wasn't the monster on thoughts.

"Who are you?"

"You know who we are, foreigner." The name made Bryce seethe in anger.

"You're the deity, aren't you?"

" **We** are the deities."

Bryce shivered. Deities were the literal physical forms of the universe, its consciousness, its desires. For a universe to have two deities guiding it, it needed to be important… and that meant nothing but bad news that he'd caught their attention.

"Why didn't you say anything to me earlier?"

The Nekropsychi simply raised a hand towards Bryce before responding. "They need not know of our existence. Better that they not understand what truly controls the balance. Especially when they are to lose someone they have come to see as a friend to that balance.

The laster that was fired from the Nekropsychi's hand took Bryce by surprise, Bryce barely having enough time to solidify omni-energy around his chest to tank the blast. Flying through the air, Bryce barely righted himself in time to block the deities blade. They stood at a stand still for a moment before the Nekropsychi was hit by a blast of lightning, giving Bryce some space to recover as it flew back. It growled when it finally stopped, a light burn mark present on its chest.

Bryce stood, weapons at the ready, storm clouds brewing above him. Circling around him were rocks and rubble from the office, bits of fire and ice that he'd created from spinning rapidly around him.

"Sorry, but dying isn't on the agenda till I get home."

…

Ruby Rose wasn't sure what was going on. Her memories of the moments before Ren's semblance calmed her were scattered and disjointed. She remembered Bryce donning some really cool looking armor she was going to ask him about later. Then a scream, and petrifying terror. The only other memory she had in between the scream and Ren's semblance, was Bryce in front of her, the humanoid Grimm thing's arm stabbed through his stomach.

She remembered Bryce's robot buddy, who was also awesome, referring to a monster coming towards them that he'd called a Neck-ro-si-key, or something like that. She just hadn't exactly expected it to be so scary. Or powerful.

As she ran down to the safety bunker beneath beacon, she couldn't help but worry. Worry about the monster Bryce was fighting, worry about said alien, worry for her team, team JNPR… herself.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ruby asked everyone as they ran. Ozpin was the one to answer.

"I trust that Mr. Anderson can handle this creature. From what he said earlier to Ms. Goodwitch and myself, he has previous experience fighting the Nekropsychi. I think we just need to worry about keeping ourselves safe."

Ruby wanted to trust Professor Ozpin. She really did. But she couldn't help but worry. She tried to focus on the task of getting to safety, but was constantly distracted by thoughts of how the fight must be going.

Blake was thinking about their alien friend as well. She couldn't bring herself to forgive herself for her harsh words to him. What he'd gone through wasn't too far from what she'd gone through as a faunus. The only difference was the amount of war and trauma they'd went through. And she'd judged him so harshly, just because of what he was. Because of what the media had said people like him were like. She wanted to find the opportunity to apologize for those thoughts, but the fight above them left her unsure she'd ever have the chance.

Weiss felt terrible. She'd acted just like her father when Bryce told them the truth. A man she'd promised she'd never be like. But just then, she'd done exactly that. She'd judged someone and assumed the worst of them, all because of the fact that they were different. She understood why he'd hidden himself. An alien on Remnant wouldn't be taken with acceptance. Many scientists would want to study him, probe him, hurt him, all for their own benefit. No doubt the Atlas military would want to use him to make their army stronger, militarizing him as much as possible. Though, due to the display earlier with the Grimm, and the small bit of the fight she'd caught earlier, Bryce was already more combat effective than anyone on Remnant.

Yang herself was worrying over something else entirely. From what Bryce had briefly explained about Nekro-whatever they were called, they targeted Bryce's species, Septonians if she remembered correctly, before anything else. So, why had it tried to attack Ruby? She'd barely caught and remembered the monster looking at Ruby before charging at her, only for Bryce to get in the way and save the small crimsonette. For that, she gave him kudos and all the respect she could give, but it still worried her. What was so special about her sister that it'd tried to kill her?

All of team RWBY's thoughts were dashed as a boulder came careening through the window. It rolled right in front of them, smashing through multiple classrooms. All ten of the people in the group stared in shock at what had just happened. At the sound of thunder and the tell-tale flash of lightning, everyone looked up and their surprise only grew.

The fight between Bryce and the monster was way beyond anything any of them had ever seen. Bryce hands moved around, acting as if they were hurling objects at the Nekropsychi. As if they were actually thrown, different objects that were floating around him attacked with his movements, rocks, water, ice, even lightning from the storm above him obeying his commands. The Nekropsychi simply dodged or deflected the attacks. It was only when it took a particularly harsh blast to the back from a stream of fire that it retaliated in a terrifying manner. It raised its hand, a black, crystalline shield absorbing the rest of the attacks. The moment Bryce's onslaught stopped, the shield broke apart into multiple different smaller pieces. The shards formed fast spinning discs that flew at Bryce. Bryce simply crossed his arms like an X in front of him. From the ground shot large tree roots, following his movements, blocking the attacks just barely, the discs cutting halfway through the roots before shattering into tiny pieces.

Bryce readied his sword and charged the Nekropsychi, a sonic boom shattering any remaining glass in the building, as he blurred from view. At this point, most of the onlookers lost sight of the combatants, only seeing the occasional movement of missed attacks, and hearing the blasting sound of metal on bone. The only way they could tell they were still fighting was the waves of air and powerful ripples that constantly bombarded them from the fighters clashes, bringing all but Ozpin to their knees.

Ozpin simply looked on in awe. Even with his Semblance slowing things down, he could barely follow the movements of the fighters above him. He caught breif glimpses of their blades clashing. Neither one gave ground, only taking glancing blows, each regenerating most of the damage. Ozpin had seen and fought in many battles that went beyond the bounds of normal huntsman, even maidens to a degree. But this… this was a level of power even he couldn't dream of possessing.

Ms. Goodwitch was barely containing her shock. She'd understood the young man was powerful, but this… this was an entirely different level. It was beyond insane. This went beyond the power of Dust, or even the maidens and Ozpin. It was like two God's clashing. And she wasn't sure how she felt about one of those gods being a sixteen year old boy who wanted to go home.

They all stood in silence as ozpin shakily sipped what remained of his coffee. "Wel…" he commented as he watched the fight unfold. "This will be difficult to explain to James."

…

"The fight was going nowhere fast. Bryce wasn't strong enough to overpower a Nekropsychi directly controlled by deities. He was only sixteen after all, it took years of training and experience and growth to achieve that kind of strength. Something very few Septonians had achieved, for obvious reasons.

Bryce's mind was on autopilot. He acted instinctively, using his powers to throw attacks at the Nekropsychi, no longer trying to formulate a plan.

Duck, block, stab, dodge, slash, fire, dodge again. Bryce was no longer worried about perfect stance or style. He was in pure survival mode, his drive to not die having taken over all his functions.

It wasn't until a double-toned voice broke through his subconscious did he really think about what he was doing.

"Your resistance is a mistake."

"Well, I'm sorry that i don't quite like the idea of dying. Crazy how that works."

Bryce slashed at the Nekropsychi, only for it to block the strike and lash out with its tail. Bryce dodged and retaliated with a kick to its side. The hit landed, giving Bryce a moment more to continue the attack.

Striking again with his sword, Bryce feinted another overhead swing, only to fire four round into his opponents chest when it raised its blade to block. This caused it to stumble, giving Bryce the opportunity to strike its chest again. Before the block connected, the Nekropsychi slammed its fist into Bryce's gut, sending him tumbling into a boulder still floating around. As he tried to shake off the dizziness he felt from the blow, only to be hit again by the Nekrpsychi's blade. He barely recovered in time to block an attack meant for his heart. Bryce growled as pain erupted in his shoulder, another blade protruding from its other wrist, impaled through his skin.

Snapping the second blade with a twist of his body, turning with his blade to swing in a large area. The attack was blocked and the two fighters began to trade blows quickly once again.

"If I'm such a problem," Bryce asked as he ducked underneath the Nekropsychi's tail, "Why not just send me home? It'd make our lives a lot easier."

"Can you send a virus out of your body because you want it gone?"

Bryce was slightly taken aback by the answer, giving the Nekropsychi to kick him in the gut. He grunted out an answer as he blocked another kick.

"No, I can't."

Their blades locked and the Nekropsychi leaned forward, it's eyes narrowing in on Bryce's "Then do not ask us to do the same."

The Nekropsychi continued to attack Bryce, pressing its advantage as much as possible. Its blades were almost a blur, its movements losing any predictability. Bryce desperately defended against the attacks, barely keeping up. In a desperate attempt to put some distance between him and the demon before him. He thrust his hand forward and exerted the last of his destruction energy in a surge of plasma. The super heated energy blasted forward, encasing the Nekropsychi, melting limbs that were unprotected.

When the energy finally dissipated, Bryce was gasping for air. To even damage the Nekropsychi, he'd had to heat that to five times the temperature of a normal star. He'd only survived due to the thick layer of Omni-energy he'd coated himself in.

"Is it dead?" Bryce asked Alpha. Alpha was silent for a moment and the silence was scaring Bryce.

" _I do not sense its presence anywhere nearby. I think for now, you are_ -SHK!" Alpha was cut off by the screaming of metal as Bryce's suit was torn open by a boney blade that slammed through Bryce's body from behind, penetrating one of his lungs.

"Gack!" Bryce coughed out blood, the red liquid covering his visor. To not choke on his own blood, Bryce willed his helmet to fold back. As soon as it was gone, Bryce swung his head back, clocking the own Nekropsychi's mask, cracking it in half. As it recoiled, Bryce fell forward enough to get himself off the blade and heal himself. The action left him little energy to work with. He'd already been obscenely low on Omni-energy when the fight began, but now he was two minutes away from being dried up. He needed a way out of this situation and fast.

"There has to be another way to solve this than killing me!" Bryce shouted as the possessed monster charged him. It attacked with a brutality it hadn't shown before. It seems his plasma attack had only angered it more than it already was. As Bryce neared the end of his reserved, he flung out a desperate strike, hoping to kill the Nekropsychi before it killed him. He was rewarded with the sight of his blade sinking deep into the monster's chest, sparks flying from its bones as it buried itself into its boney chestplate. There was a brief feeling of accomplishment and hope, only for it to be shattered as the feared blade pierced his heart. The last remaining energy drained out of him to keep him alive just a while longer.

"Please," Bryce choked out, the fear of dying getting to him, "Anything…"

The Deities were silent for a moment before speaking. "We will give your life to fate if you agree to what we say."

"I'll do it." Bryce said quickly, feeling his consciousness begin to fade.

"Never use your powers to this extent, ever again. Do you swear on your soul to abide by this."

"Yes." Bryce gasped. Instead of responding, the Deities influence simply disappeared from the Nekropsychi, its red eyes fading to nothing, leaving pure black slits, its mask losing its beautiful stripes. Without the Deities influence gone, only a common Nekropsychi remained. The damage Bryce had tone to it, and the sword it was currently impaled on killed it the moment the power of the Deities faded.

The Nekropsychi letting out a dying scream before it shriveled up into a ball of black mist. With nothing left to support him in air, Bryce's body began to fall to the ground. As he fell, he watched Beacon instantly change from a destroyed battleground to the pristine condition it'd once been in. Probably the deities fixing the damage they'd both caused.

Bryce was sure he was going to die. He never really seemed to be on Fate's good side. And the damage he'd taken was sure to kill him within the next few minutes if he didn't die from this fall.

Before he hit the ground, Bryce thought back to his family and Natalie. He felt bad he wouldn't be able to say goodbye. He felt sure he wouldn't survive any longer than an hour, most definitely not without his powers. But what truly hurt was knowing they'd never have a body to bury, no last words for him, nothing. He hoped that one day they could forgive him for dying here. He just hoped it was long before they met him in the next life.

…

Jaune Arc was running faster than he ever had before. He'd been frozen in awe as he watched the battle between Bryce and Nekropsychi go down. It'd only been when Bryce had been stabbed through his chest. Now he was running with his team and team RWBY towards the plummeting body of Bryce. Bryce's body was seconds from hitting the ground when Jaune got an idea.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted as they run. When she looked at him, he pointed to Bryce. "The suit! Slow down the suit!"

Pyrrha didn't seem to understand what he was saying for a moment before she too realized what he had. Bryce's suit was, as far as they could tell, made of metal. That meant Pyrrha could use her semblance on it.

Jaune watched in silence as Pyrrha stretched out her hand, and grabbed Bryce's armor with her polarity. The blue and purple suit was surrounded by an opaque, black aura, Bryce's descent slowed, but he was falling too fast for Pyrrha to stop him entirely without hurting him. Bryce hit the ground hard, and the distinct sound of metal cracking and bones breaking reached the rushing groups ears.

Eleven people surrounded Bryce's still body, Ms. Goodwitch taking point. She put her fingers to his neck and felt for a pulse. What she got was a slow, weak thump. Bryce was on the very cusp of death.

Looking over him, they were surprised to see the minimal amount of damage he'd taken. His suit was torn in multiple places but in each of those spots, Bryce looked relatively fine. Except for his broken arm and the bleeding hole in his chest. While most of the damage had been sealed, he still had a hole clear through his chest, multiple organs torn or hanging limply. Bryce's chest was ever so slow to rise and fall. Blood seeped forebodingly on the ground.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ruby whispered. No one had the heart to tell her the reality of the situation. The cold, cruel unforgiving reality that she'd never had to truly face up until this point.

" _Bryce's body without the necessary creation or omni-energy to properly heal his wounds. Without immediate medical aide, he will die within the next ten minutes,"_ Alpha's voice startled everyone slightly, but his words only made the atmosphere feel more heavy and cold than it had before.

"Can't his aura save him?" Ruby asked innocently. It'd be funny how little she really understood if someone who'd fought tooth and nail to save them weren't dying before them.

"Ms. Rose, Bryce has been artificially creating aura through his powers since the beginning of his time on Remnant. Without them, he can not create an aura. And that is ignoring the blatantly obvious fact that Creation and Omni energy are better at healing damage taken than aura ever could be."

Something about that statement bugged Jaune. Bryce had artificially been creating aura, Jaune could accept that. After everything he'd just seen Bryce do, that was a simple thing to accept. But that meant he'd never truly had his aura unlocked. Which possibly meant…

"We can unlock his aura." Everyone looked to Jaune in confusion.

"Uh, Vomit Boy, have you not been paying attention? The robot just told us Bryce can't make an aura right now."

"No, just listen. Alpha said he was creating aura through his powers, right?" Everyone nodded, acknowledging the truth of the statement. "That means he's been using a false aura this entire time. The reason he didn't have a semblance that came with that aura was because it wasn't actually his soul. Which means-"

"We can unlock it now and he'll have aura for real." Ruby finished a look of hope spreading across her face.

" _It is possible, but a dangerous idea_ ," Alpha's words caused a sliver of doubt in their hearts.

"What do you mean?" Nora cocked her head to the side. "It's just unlocking his aura? What's so dangerous about that?"

" _Septonian souls do not act like human and faunus souls. So what is possible and normal for humans and faunus, could be dangerous for a Septonian._ "

"How so?"

" _Septonian souls also contain their DNA. As Septonians can edit the world around them, to keep them from making permanent unintentional changers, their DNA is tied to their soul, meaning that unlocking his soul could possibly damage that DNA."_

Yang huffed. "Well it's either that or let him die, so make a choice or I will."

"Yang!" Weiss glared, but Yang brushed her off.

"No! I am not going to let someone who saved my sister when I couldn't die when there's the slightest chance in hell that I can save him ! So make your darn choice NOW!"

Everyone was quiet, mulling over Yang's word, and looking to the sword in which the Artificial Intelligence deemed as Bryce's guid resided. Finally, Alpha gave an answer.

" _Ozpin. I believe as Bryce trusts you the most you should be the one to unlock his aura."_

Ozpin nodded to the A.I. "It would be my pleasure." Kneeling down next to the armored youth. Putting a hand to his wounded chest, Ozpin spoke the words none present would ever forget.

" **For it is in time that we achieve immortality. Only through this can you become an honest more simple soul. Great are the trials and infinite your duty. I give you this burden and release your soul, and by my hand, honor thee."**

As soon as Ozpin finished the mantra, his green aura lowed as a burst of wind erupted from Bryce, blowing through the hair of all those present. It felt calm, relaxing even. They all watched in awe as a dark, Navy blue aura settled around Bryce, and they heard his breathing get lighter, his wound finally beginning to seal fully.

"His vitals are stabilizing. We can now safely transport him to medical personnel." Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Bryce was going to live. He didn't die.

…

Universe H1

It was rainy in Spiti. The clouds had been releasing enough to cause flash floods left and right. Not that it mattered, as with Septonians powers they were stopped before they did any real damage. But that wasn't what had made the day somber and sorrowful. Today was the funeral of Bryce Anderson and many of his friends and family were gathered together to bury a surrogate body they'd made, as they had no way to retrieve the real one.

Black umbrellas covered the many people in attendance. All except seven people. Miles Draugher, Bailey Simmons, Natalie Viewman, and the Anderson family stood next to the grave.

Bailey stood next to Miles, hugging him tightly as they both cried. Natalie herself was on her knees balling, looking at the casket below her in denial, like reality and what she believed couldn't connect.

Eliza cried into Zach's chest, as their daughter's did the same, clutching to their father for support. He wasn't doing much better than them, barely constraining his own tears.

Four days before, the same day that they'd felt the Cardia connection flare up, signalling a devastating injury, their connection to him simply shattered as if it no longer existed. And that only happens when a person was killed by a Nekropsychi. He'd lost the battle. A funeral had been scheduled and arrangements made.

After a while, they finally threw the ceremonial flowers onto the casket and tossed the first bits of dirt onto the casket, leaving the rest for the graveyard managers. They all left to the small meeting house they'd rented for speeches and a small dinner.

When everyone settled into the building, Miles walked up to the stand at the front of the meeting hall. He gulped loudly, swallowing the best he could his powerful emotions.

"You know… I've never been the best with words, but today, I've been finding it easier than normal to voice my thoughts.

"Brye and I have been best friends since we were four years old. We met in preschool in the weirdest of ways. At the time, I was taller than Bryce, though later on that didn't last much longer." The audience chuckled. "But putting that aside, I wanted to be the tough kid, so I began to push everyone around. When I pushed Bryce, he simply glared at me and pushed me back."

"For some reason, that stuck with me, and I asked him to be my friend. Weirdly enough, he agreed. It wasn't nine years later that we fought in our first real battle together." Miles laughed. "I remember I was so scared of dying I didn't want to even leave the bunker. But Bryce wouldn't let me. He told me as he dragged me towards the fight, 'If you can't fight for yourself, fight for those behind you so that they won't see combat.' After we won the fight, Bryce called us blood brothers and told me 'if one of us dies, the other one has to make sure that they never stop moving, never stop growing. That they can hopefully achieve everything the other always hoped for.' When I mentioned how that was grimm thought to be having at age thirteen, he just laughed it off."

Miles bit back tears before he continued. "Bryce dreamed of peace. While he was often a realist, his one claim to naivety as he put it was the dream that one day we could live in harmony with everyone around us. A dream… he'll no longer get to see."

Miles felt tears flow, his throat restricting as powerful emotions overtook him. "Now, more than ever, do his words ring true. We can't let this stop us or detriment us. We have to keep fighting, keep pushing, keep growing until we can finally, one day achieve his dream. We need to work our hardest to do the best we can to make the world a naive dreamers' paradise. In his memory. Otherwise, what's the point of remembering him at all."

 **So... good ending message... I hope. Either way, I leave you all with an enjoyable chapter to write. Follow favorite, and review with what you liked most. And if you didn't like something, leave a review anyway, and tell me what you want to see change. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas or any other holidays you may celebrate during this time if you're not a fan of Christmas. But that's besides the point, I will see you all in the next chapter, and as always, Stay Cool.**


	9. Running from Reality

**Whoooo boy. I have been gone for WAY too long. Man, I feel bad for being gone as long as I have. But, I'm back, and with a new chapter. And the next chapter was finished the same time as this one, so expect it to be posted soon. Alright, real quick, let's talk about all the new people who enjoy this book even more. First and foremost, Favorites: Cybranify, Matthew 1999, and Primecore. Followers: Cybranify, GamehunterMC, nobalspartan, Primecore, and LightGuard. It amazes me how I get more favorites and follows on this story than He's not like us, yet He's not like us gets more reviews. Please, if you read this, and like it, help me get feedback and make my content better overall. Also, over the next two weeks, I'm going to be overhauling the first few chapters, rewriting them to be more cohesive, read better, and overall improve their quality and fix grammatical errors that I've left in there. Anyway, reviews.**

 **JuniorBLD:** Thanks again for your continued support throughout my career on . This last chapter did get a bit deep. Hopefully, this chapter will still entertain you guys, even though it won't be very action-packed.

 **Anyways, with that over with, ON TO THE CHAPTER!**

Chapter Nine: Running from Reality

Bryce hated the nightmares. He knew the images he was seeing were just fake scenarios his subconscious had created. It didn't make them any less terrifying to see.

He watched silently as his home, all of Septon, burned before him. Bodies lined the streets, screams of pain and terror arising from every which way. The horrible image of a group deity blessed Nekropsychi brutally killing every single person left alive. Bryce wanted to hurl, but his brain wouldn't let him, even in the dream.

Bryce watched in forced silence as his family was murdered by attacking terrorists as his family was murdered by attacking terrorists, used as pawns for their goals. He watched as Natalie was stabbed through the heart by the same Nekropsychi he had died too. She coughed up blood, then looked in horror at him. It took Bryce a moment to realize he had replaced the monster, and now his own arm was stabbed through his girlfriend's heart.

"How," Natalie's voice was filled with sorrow, disappointment, "How could you let this happen to us?" She looked at him, the mask slowly starting to form over her face. Tears streamed down her face as the life fled her body. "How could you leave us to die? Why weren't you here? Why weren't you here!?"

Against his will, his arm lifted up, covered in the boney armor of a Nekropsychi, and lifted it to Natalie's crying face. The hand gripped her head by the chin, terror filling Natalie's face. In a sudden movement, the arm removed her head from her body. The image was too much for Bryce to handle, his soul shook, pain lurching through his entire body. As her head hit the ground, one final question fell from her lips.

"Did you even care about us?"

Bryce screamed as his heart cracked.

…

To say teams RWBY and JNPR were scared for their friend would be an understatement. They were beyond terrified for him. Even though they'd unlocked his aura, they'd barely gotten him to medical attention in time, and even the doctors were unsure if they could save him without there being severe repercussions, possibly falling into a permanent coma. None of the normal things were working to wake him up, and even the more outlandish ideas had no effect on him.

The more worrying thing to note was that no one remembered the Nekropsychi attack, bar them, Professor Goodwitch, and Professor Ozpin. Everyone they asked had no recollection of the ground shaking, lightning, boulders crashing through the Beacon, windows shattering because of sonic booms. Anyone in their class with Professor Goodwitch seemed to remember that they'd all been told to head back to their rooms for the rest of the day and that their other classes would be canceled to allow them to recover from the large Grimm attack. This discrepancy caused them to have to come up with a story for Bryce's severe injuries. Thankfully, his staying back in Forever Fall was remembered, and they were able to pass of the injuries as wounds from the battle.

It was four days later after the incident and team RWBY was gathered around Bryce's bed. They had been called there by Professor Ozpin for an important meeting, though, about what was still unknown to the four girls. Team JNPR was on a mission to eliminate a growing threat of Grimm that had appeared near where Bryce had fought the Horde. RWBY sat, waiting for him to show up. Every so often, one of them would look up from what they were doing to keep themselves entertained as they waited, to see if Bryce was waking up. They hoped he would soon. All for their own reasons.

The quiet sound of the heartbeat monitor was the only consistent noise within the room. Ruby looked up at the clock, beginning to grow impatient. Eleven forty-five. Ozpin was five minutes late. Before Ruby could voice her complaint, the sound of the heartbeat monitor grew faster. Ruby and Weiss looked at the machine at the same time. When they saw the machine's beeps grew louder and faster and more erratic, they panicked.

"Blake, call the doctor's!" Weiss shouted as she stood up, leaping to Bryce's side, looking for anything she could do. Ruby looked on in worry as tears began to flow from Bryce's unconscious eyes.

Blake hopped into action quickly, tossing her book to the floor. She scrambled for the emergency call button at the side of the bed she sat on, as Yang looked up from her own scroll, pulling out the headphones out from within her ears. She took one look and heard the sound of the heartbeat monitor going crazy, and immediately knew something was wrong.

"No, no no no no no, that's not good," Yang shouted as she stood up.

"We know, Yang! Grab my dust bag!" Weiss said, gesturing to the large, white handbag next to Yang's chair. Yang grabbed it and passed it to the heiress. Weiss began frantically searching through her back as Blake quickly conversed with the Nurse on the other end of the line.

"Please, you need to hurry. His heart's beating really fast.

" _Thank you, we'll be right there."_

Weiss shouted in triumph as she found what she was looking for, Weiss pulled out a pair of grayish-green crystals of dust. Ruby drew her eyes from Bryce's crying face, which was growing paler by the second, to Weiss in confusion.

"Weiss, what is that?" Ruby looked at the pulsating rocks warily.

"Expensive healing and lightning dust. Artificially made to create a large shock to the body when two crystals are applied to the body. It's good for treating those who are having heart attacks or need resuscitation.

"Are you sure that's safe!?"

"It's the best I've got right now," Weiss lifted her hands to apply the dust to Bryce's bandaged chest, only for him to wake up suddenly and roll to the floor, gasping for breath. His face was pale, and he hadn't stopped crying, Ruby noticed, which didn't ease the tension in the room. Weiss stood above him, frozen in shock.

"G-garbage," Bryce uttered the words as if they were painful to say. Realizing what he needed, Ruby dutifully grabbed the can and passed it to him. The instant it was underneath his head, Bryce retched twice before hurling into the garbage. The sound made all of team RWBY gag, and Weiss herself nearly vomited as she got an unwanted sight of the vile substance leaving Bryce's body.

Bryce sat there, head resting on the edge of the can, sobbing. He was whispering something, but none of the girls could tell what. Moving closer to the fallen boy, they listened closely till they could make out a single phrase that he seemed to utter over and over again.

"Don't let it be true. Don't let it be true. Please, don't let it be true."

The girls looked at Bryce, unsure of what to do. Looking between each other, they all saw that they had no clue what was wrong and had no idea what to do to help. They just stood there as Bryce cried, his head on the garbage can. What was more worrying was when the phrase he repeated changed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

A fist slamming into the ground scared the girls, causing them to jump back, Weiss screaming a bit in shock. After a few more seconds of Bryce taking deep breaths, Bryce sighed, before looking at the girls behind him.

"Sorry," He muttered, standing slowly, before sitting on the bed. It was only then that a group of nurses hurried into the room, followed by a doctor. Some of them ushered the girls out of the hospital room, as the doctor and the other nurses began to look at Bryce. The girls sat in worry outside the room, unsure of what was going on.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ruby said, looking to Yang. Yang couldn't answer. She didn't know the answer.

"Is who going to be okay?" The four girls jumped at the sound of Ozpin's voice. They all looked to the professor as he walked up to them. In one hand was his cane, and in the other, a familiar sword, held by the middle of the blade.

"Bryce," Ruby's response caused Ozpin's eyebrow to quirk up.

"Oh? And what would be the problem?" Ozpin looked to each of the girls for an answer. Weiss finally answered after a minute of silence.

"Bryce's heart started to beat really fast. Before any of us could do anything to help, he suddenly woke up. He was crying and saying something about how he didn't want something to be true… and that he was… sorry."

"Weiss," Alpha's voice surprised the group this time, "You said Bryce's heart started speeding up rapidly before he woke up and was crying and apologizing for something. Did anything else happen before he woke up."

"I'm… not sure. I was too focused on his heartbeat and trying to figure out a way to stop him from dying."

"He was crying." Everyone looked to Ruby. "He was crying, even before he woke up. And he looked like he was… terrified of something.

Alpha was quiet for a moment. That fact alone was scary, but what he said next was worse. "I need to get in there immediately. Bryce needs help, and those doctors can't give him what he needs."

"Understood." Ozpin nodded to the sword before walking towards the door. As soon as he was about to open it, the door was opened by the doctor that had come with the nurses earlier.

"Oh, Headmaster Ozpin." She looked slightly shocked to see the man who wrote their paychecks in front of her.

"Hello, Amelie." The doctor looked slightly tickled at Ozpin knowing her name, even though it was clearly written on her nametag. "How is he?"

"Well… as far as we can tell, he's perfectly fine. Fully recovered, even the scars he had are gone. Healed as if they were never there." She shook her head. "Even the earlier scare from his sudden increase in heartbeat seems to have been nothing. His heart is fully functioning, his body is perfectly fine, there's absolutely no reason for his heart to have acted like that." The doctor groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "It's all very baffling."

"Thank you, Amelie. If you don't mind, team RWBY and I would like to talk to the boy."

"Oh, by all means, go ahead. I'll get the other nurses to leave so you can have some privacy. But please, call me if anything more happens."

Ozpin smiled at the doctor. "We will. Thank you for your help." The doctor smiled, before calling for the nurses in the room to leave, before leaving herself. Once the room was empty, Ozpin walked into the room, followed by team RWBY. Bryce sat at the edge of the bed, stock still, staring blankly at the wall before him.

"Set me down," Alpha instructed, and Ozpin nodded before doing so. Alpha suddenly rose into the air, before being surrounded by his blue avatar. He walked over to the boy, who didn't acknowledge the A.I's approach. Alpha rested a hand on Bryce.

"Bryce." Bryce didn't respond. "Bryce, look at me." Bryce did, slowly. "You know it wasn't real."

"I… I know that, but…"

"Bryce." Bryce took a deep breath.

"Bryce, you are stronger than the images. Don't let them scare you into believing it to be true."

Bryce was quiet for a moment. He'd closed his eyes, and took a couple long, deep breaths, before opening his eyes, and smiling. "You're right."

"Um…" Bryce and Alpha looked to the group of people near the door, specifically, Yang. "Not to interrupt or anything, but… what are you talking about."

Bryce sighed. "It seems someone forced me to see a vision. A distorted, controlled vision that showed me a twisted version of a possible reality. One where my planet was attacked and burned. Everyone… everyone I knew killed." Bryce's voice grew shaky as he described the events. He took a second to regain his control. "It was meant to shake me, make me scared to do anything. It almost worked."

"It's known as Oroma, a common occurrence among Septonians. These dreams are often brought forth after a brush with death. It's the universe's way of trying to finish the job it started and get their species to kill themselves," Alpha explained.

"Woah." Everyone felt an ominous sense of foreboding hit them. The idea of something beyond them trying to get someone to kill themselves when it failed was beyond horrifying. What made it worse was that this wasn't the work of evil. No, this was the work of Fate itself.

"So, not to continue down this dark path, but how am I still alive," The group flinched as Bryce mentioned his near-death experience, "Cause by my account, I should've died from the impact, and if not that, blood loss. And how did I heal so much? I don't remember being able to heal the amount of damage I'd taken unconscious, ignoring the fact that I had no creation or Omni energy at the time. So… what happened."

"That," Ozpin smiled at the confused teenager, "is among one of the various reasons I called us all together. Alpha informed me that you should be waking up today, though we didn't think it'd be so early, or that it would be because of these… Oroma."

" _There is much to talk about,"_ Alpha noted. Bryce's expression became serious as the five guests to the room sat down.

"By talking with Alpha over the last four days, we have pieced together everything that happened, and wanted to inform you all of what is going on." Ozpin sighed. "So, let us start off with what has happened, and why. As you girls will remember, we were attacked by a Nekropsychi, a monster previously thought to only exist in Bryce's universe for the sole purpose of killing his species." Everyone shivered at the memory but nodded nonetheless.

"This incident was brought forth because of his extremely uncontrolled use of his powers. As far as Alpha has explained to me, every universe is pre-driven to keep a stable balance between all forces, light and darkness, good and bad, creation and destruction. Each universe has a limit to the amount of power one being or one side can hold, and Bryce's powers greatly exceeded that, at least at the magnitude he used them back in the Forest of Forever Fall. As a counter-balance to this, it created the Nekropsychi to try and eliminate him."

"But Bryce is still alive," Ruby's voice was shaky, her nervousness showing, "Does that mean…"

"That it will try again?" Ozpin finished. Ruby just nodded her head. "No, it won't, as long as Bryce does not use his powers to the same, or a similar, extent."

"That's great and all, but," Bryce cut in, "Last I remember I was falling to my death and even if I survived the fall, I would've bled out within minutes. What happened after I lost consciousness?"

Everyone else was silent for a moment, caught up in the memory of racing to Bryce's dying, broken body. The image of his organs punctured, visible from the hole in his chest, blood covering the grass, the panic and worry. The image of Ozpin unlocking Bryce's aura and his body beginning to heal.

"Well, uh, after you… fell," Weiss started. "Pyrrha slowed your fall with her semblance, by grabbing your armor."

"Which you still need to show me later!" Ruby interjected, pointing a finger. Weiss glared pointedly at the crimsonette, causing Ruby to grin sheepishly when she realized what she'd done.

"Anyways, upon reaching you, Alpha informed us of your condition and your inability to heal yourself at the time."

Yang now took her turn in explaining as Weiss trailed off, still shaken by the memory. "It was at this point Jaune came up with the idea that we could unlock your aura."

Bryce blinked. "What…"

"We had Ozpin unlock your aura. It was the only way we could think of to save you."

Bryce looked owlishly at the other people present. "Huh… didn't think that was possible if I'm being honest."

"Neither did we, but we were desperate," Blake said, adding her own two cents.

"Okay, I can respect that." Bryce looked to Alpha, who now laid on the bed, "Is there anything else I should know. I mean, as far as I can tell, I'm fine, but we both know what happens when tampering with Septonian souls."

"What's so risky about that?" Yang huffed, "I get that it's tied to your DNA, but your souls just acting like a shield. It's not that big a deal."

" _You misunderstand, Ms. Xiao Long,_ " Alpha said, " _Septonian souls, as I stated before, do not act, or react, like human souls. As such, what is safe for a human soul, isn't always safe for a Septonian. There have been multiple tests on Septonian souls, most of which were trying to manipulate the soul. All of them ended up with people dead, not always the test subject."_

A shiver traveled down the four girls back as it dawned on them how dangerous what they had done truly was. They'd brushed death, and never really realized it.

"You never answered my question, Alpha. Is there anything wrong with me? Anything I should be worried about or know about?"

The silence that followed scared everyone. "Alpha? What's wrong with me?"

" _Physically, nothing. But your soul is no longer able to hold a Cardia connection."_

Bryce paled. "Does that mean-"

" _The connections with your family and Natalie have shattered."_

Bryce sat there, not moving for a full minute. The four teens were scared to ask Bryce anything, while Ozpin and Alpha gave him space to act as he felt he should. Bryce stood up slowly after a long time, and walked over to the wall, before smashing a fist through it.

"Dang it. Why?" Bryce sounded defeated. "Why does everything have to be so difficult!?"

"Um…" Ruby's voice was timid, as if she were afraid Bryce would snap at her. He didn't, instead just looking at her silently. "What's wrong."

Bryce took a few seconds to calm himself before responding. "A Cardia connection is something we Septonians are able to develop. It occurs when two people care for each other on a deep, emotional level. This connection basically lets one person know when the other person is in severe pain, is dying, or is dead. It gives people a chance to be saved by those they love, or more often, at least be able to see them in their last moments."

" _A connection like that doesn't just shatter, even upon the person's death. Unless their soul was destroyed, in which case it can't pass on to the next life, or the afterlife if you will."_

Realization spread across the faces of the girls, while Ozpin nodded sadly. He'd known about this for four days and was still terrible to hear.

"You mean-"

"Right now, my family and friends believe that I'm not only dead, but that I'm gone forever, and that they'll never see me again, even when they die."

Ruby looked stricken with worry and sadness, Yang with guilt and sorrow, Weiss and Blake both looked sad but sympathetic.

"Are you going to be okay?" Blake asked quietly. Bryce just took a deep breath and shrugged.

"I'll be… well, I can't exactly say okay, because that would be a lie," Bryce smiled half-heartedly, "but I'll live. I'll just fix that issue when I get home."

Ruby sniffled. "I feel like this is my fault."

Bryce snorted. "Oh. So, Ruby Rose, care to inform us when you decided to develop the power to manipulate souls?"

Outside of everyone's view, Ozpin coughed and paled ever so slightly.

"Ruby didn't notice this and tried to protest. "But-"

"Nope!" Yang interrupted. "No butts, sis. You're too young to be looking at them."

Ruby blushed and tried to hide in her cloak as the others laughed. Except for Weiss. She would never laugh at something so childish. So she giggled instead.

"In all seriousness, Ruby," Bryce said, "This just means that it's going to be harder for me to get home, as now my family will no longer by trying to get here to save me."

"I guess," Ruby muttered. "Still feel like I contributed."

"You didn't force me to use my powers, that was my choice. You didn't cause me to fall into Remnant, I did. You didn't cause the Nekropsychi to attack me, I did. None of this is on you, any of you. I alone am to blame for my mistakes. Fair?"

Ruby nodded, smiling. "Fair."

"Glad that you could take care of that," Ozpin smiled, "Now, onto more current issues, due to your newly discovered fame around school, we've had to remove you from combat classes with the first years, as none of them except team RWBY and team JNPR are willing to fight you, and I believe that repetitively fighting the same person over and over again will not help you grow."

"Agreed."

"You will be joining our mixed combat class, which will consist of the most talented teams of each age group. Teams RWBY and JNPR will be joining you as well."

"Sweet, I won't be alone."

"Finally, recent events have caused us to reevaluate what to do with you when the Vytal Festival comes around, as, after the video that was posted, people are expecting you to compete, even though you are all alone. As such, we have allowed you to, for now, be the first one-man team to compete in the tournament. But, any new transfer students we receive will be placed on your team. Is that understood?"

"Crystal clear, professor Ozpin."

"Good. Then, if that's all taken care of, we'll leave you be." Ozpin smiled as he got up to leave, gesturing for team RWBY to do the same.

"Actually, if you could stay a moment," Bryce asked the headmaster. "I need to talk to you about something else that came up in Forever Fall, but with the ensuing insanity, I didn't really get to mention it to anyone."

Ozpin's gave him a questioning look. "Is it anything I need to be concerned about?" Bryce chuckled.

" _Absolutely not, in fact, all things considered, it's probably a good thing,"_ Alpha said on Bryce's behalf. Bryce nodded.

" _You see, during our trip to the forest of Forever Fall, Bryce was watching over Jaune Arc for the sake of Pyrrha Nikos. During a confrontation with Cardin Winchester and his team, Jaune had to combat an Ursa Major on his own."_ Ruby and Weiss flinched at the mention of the fight, remembering how Pyrrha had asked they not speak of the incident. And now, here was Alpha speaking of it freely to the headmaster, " _As Jaune prepared to release his final strike against the monster, both Bryce and I recognized a familiar power stir up within him to empower his strike."_

Ozpin looked to Bryce with a little bit of interest showing through his normally calm expression. "And what would that be."

"It seems that I'm not the only one in the academy that can wield Creation energy." Bryce smiled. The response he received was in instantaneous.

"WHAT!" Four female voices cried out at the same moment. Ozpin just smiled and nodded to the discovery.

"I knew there was something special about Mr. Arc, though I will admit it was not this."

" _Indeed, it was quite a shock to us as well."_ Alpha agreed. " _Though it seems we've broken your students… again."_ Sure enough, the four girls stood in blind shock, each muttering about something that had to deal with this most recent revelation. Ruby seemed to be thinking about the cool weapons she could help Jaune build, Weiss mumbled something about Jaune not being deserving of something so amazing, Yang was whining about how Jaune would now be stronger than her, and Blake… well, it seems her fantasy ship was now changing to give Jaune more… interesting options for how he and Pyrrha would do things, if her red face and nosebleed was anything to go by.

"This is becoming quite the habit with you two." Ozpin chuckled as he looked at the four students.

Well, ignoring that, the main reason I wanted to bring this up is I thought it might be a good idea to begin to train Jaune how to control his power. Having someone besides me be able to use something so powerful would be beneficial to Huntsmen in the future, especially if I can train him well enough that he can recognize it in others and teach them as well."

"That is a great idea Mr. Anderson, but you will most likely need to talk to Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos about doing so, as she is currently training him at his request."

Bryce nodded for a second before settling into silence, as he watched the girls, who still had yet to recover from the idea of Jaune having Creation energy.

"So, is it just me, or does Pyrrha have it bad for Jaune."

"It is not just you, Mr. Anderson. All the staff, and I can bet most of the student body have noticed the obvious attraction Ms. Nikos had for Mr. Arc. In fact, there seems to be a betting pool on whether or not she will reveal her feelings or if Mr. Arc will realize before then."

Bryce chuckled. "Well, the benefit of teaching Jaune how to use his Creation Energy is that he'll be more perceptive, especially in being able to recognize people's emotions. Maybe during my time teaching him, he'll realize Pyrrha's feelings for him."

Ozpin's eyes twinkled. "I would love to be present if such a thing were to happen."

Bryce nodded. "It'd be a heartwarming image."

"Indeed." Ozpin stood once more, and began to lead team RWBY out. "We'll leave you be Mr. Anderson. I'll see if can't have Ms. Goodwitch wake these girls up before class. When you're ready, you can head to your dorm."

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin." Bryce watched as Ozpin closed the door behind him. "I have a feeling there's something more to the reason he wants me to be alone?"

" _You would be correct on that guess,"_ Alpha affirmed. " _He has informed me of much that would be important for us to know about and be prepared for."_

"Alright… let's hear it."

" _While you were recovering, Ozpin took the time to inform me of some very important things, the main one being this person, Salem, that Ms. Goodwitch mentioned. As far as I understood, Grimm have been around as long as humanity. Ozpin himself has been around for hundreds of years, referring to himself as the Wizard, a man with immense power that lives forever within host bodies. A while back, he came into conflict with Salem, a woman who'd been in hiding for a very long time."_

"What does she have to do with all this?"

" _Salem, from what I've been told, controls most Grimm, or rather, can choose to do so at any time, and sees over their creation. Her goals seem to be the destruction of Remnant, human and faunuskind specifically."_

"Another person with a villain complex. Great, like we didn't have enough of those people in our lives already."

" _Here and home are different, and we can't solve this like we normally would. This will require discretion and patience, one of which is very limited with our show of power at this point."_

"So what do you suggest."

" _Ozpin has asked us to watch over teams RWBY and JNPR, so until we receive different instructions, focus on that. Salem will have to put her plans into motion soon, and it is only then that we will sees us as a threat, if the previous Grimm attack and Tyrian's attempt on your life are anything to go by. She will have someone try again soon, if to do nothing more than rid herself of our possible interference."_

Bryce simply nodded. "You're right. She most definitely will." Bryce sighed before standing up. "Well, let's head back to the dorm. No doubt I've got homework to get done, and I definitely do not want to sleep on this hospital bed any longer."

" _On that we agree,"_ Alpha chuckled. " _It is uncomfortable, even to me."_

"How is that even possible."

" _I neither know, nor do I care. I just would like to be somewhere else as I work on planning our next move."_

Bryce laughed as he picked up the blade. "Alright then. Let's head back."

…

Salem was beyond angry. Ozpin had taken in a powerful new variable, and she didn't like it. Especially when said variable was a fellow Septonian. One who no doubt had family and friends searching for him. 'How did he even get to this dimension?' Salem thought to herself, 'I specifically chose this universe because it was nye impossible to reach.'

Salem glowered at the disfigured scorpion faunus before her, whose tail was almost entirely gone.

"You failed me, Tyrian.

Tyrian flinched as he looked warily up to his goddess, head bowed.

"I-I-I tried, my queen. I did everything I could. He simply… overcame me in a moment of surprise. He was more powerful than I anticipated."

"More powerful than me?" Tyrian paled.

"No, never your grace. No heathen could ever stand before your power, my goddess."

Salem hummed. "Flattery will not dismiss your short comings, Tyrian. As much as it pains me to do so," Salem ran a hand across Tyrian's cheek, the man flinching at her touch, "you must learn from your mistakes and become stronger for me. As such, you must be punished for your failures."

Tyrian whimpered. "Please, Mistress, I'll do anything."

Salem smiled as she lifted Tyrians chin to look directly into her eyes.

"Then receive your punishment and do better. For my sake."

Knowing that arguing would only make things worse for him, Tyrian nodded numbly. "Yes, my queen."

Salem snapped, and a large Beringel, heavily armored with bones, spikes, and pieces of weaponry protruding from its body came into the room. The Grimm led Tyrian out, leaving Salem to her thoughts. She would have to change her plans. Any Septonian would recognize the powers she had, meaning she'd need to rely on her pawns more than she'd wanted to originally. Unless…

Salem smiled as an idea came to her. Unless she could kill him before then. Septonians could only heal so much damage. Especially if they weren't prepared to heal fatal strikes. It seems she would have to call Cinder, one of her favorite pawns, about a change in plans.

…

It'd taken Bryce three days to finish the homework that he had. Apparently, Weiss had ever so graciously gathered all his homework for him, even though he was technically excused from is, so that he wouldn't be behind in class. Yeah, he'd have to talk to her about the meaning of gracious and how it generally doesn't apply to homework.

Over the course of the three days, he'd talked to Jaune and Pyrrha about what he'd discovered. To say it shocked them would be an understatement. Jaune was speechless, and Pyrrha had a multitude of questions to make sure Bryce was telling them the truth. After a lot of convincing, both Jaune and Pyrrha agreed to let Bryce begin training Jaune to use Creation. He'd also be joining them in their training sessions.

Today though, was Friday, and Bryce was trying to relax. Or he'd been trying to till Ruby burst into his room, demanding he come with her and her team, saying he'd promised they'd hang out weeks before and they never did. Bryce had wanted to say no, but even with two younger sisters, he was weak to the power every little sister had within their arsenal. The dreaded Puppy dog eyes.

Now, he was walking slowly behind team RWBY as they traversed Vale, as multitudes of stores began to set up decorations for something. Across a particularly busy street, an old man standing on a ladder was hanging up a sign that said 'Welcome to Vale.'

"Oh, the Vytal Festival!" Weiss said, smiling widely at the scene, "Oh, this is absolutely wonderful."

"I don't think I've every seen you smile this much Weiss," Ruby commented, before muttering. "It's kinda weirding me out."

"How could you not smile," Weiss asked, turning to her team, "A Festival dedicated to the cultures of the world. There will be dances, parades, a tournament, oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking."

Yang sighed in annoyance. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Bryce snorted in agreement.

"No kidding."

"Quiet you two." Weiss glared at the offenders harshly, before turning back to the street before her as they walked.

"Remind me again why we're spending we're spending our Friday morning visiting the stupid docks?" Yang whined as the fog horn of an incoming ship blasted from the ocean. Ruby took a whiff of the smell and gagged.

"Ugh, they smell like fish."

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today, and as a representative of Beacon, it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss said, bowing slightly, before continuing towards the docks.

"Does no one else find it weird how the one from Atlas is the most excited to welcome people to Vale?" Bryce whispered to Yang, who snickered.

Blake turned to Yang and Ruby, "She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upperhand in the tournament." Weiss scoffed, before rounding on Blake, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"You can't prove that."

Bryce laughed quietly, as Yang teased Weiss mercilessly. A gasp from Ruby got their attention. Turning to see what she'd found, they were surprised to find a shop surrounded by VPD, Vale Police Department. The shop had been sectioned off with caution tape, one of the windows were shattered and the door kicked open. Everything inside seems to be gone, with most of the shelves thrown on the floor.

"What happened her," Ruby asked one of the detectives who was writing something down in a notepad.

"Robbery," He informed her nonchalantly. "Second dust shop to be hit this week." As he walked towards the other officer, he grumbled, "this place is turning into a jungle."

"That's terrible," Yang said, as she placed a hand on her hip, staring at the store sadly.

Before anyone could say anything else, they overheard the two detectives begin talking to each other. The second one they hadn't spoken to spoke first.

"They left all the money again."

"Yeah," the first detective just shook his head in confusion, "It just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much dust?"

"I don't know, an army?" The second detective took off his glasses as he responded.

"You, a, thinking the White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

As the girls began to walk away, Weiss hmphed.

"The White Fang," she crossed her arms in disgust at the name, "What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"What's your problem?" Blake glared at the heiress. Bryce had a guess where this was going to go, and he didn't like it.

"MY problem?" Weiss said, "I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of a collection of misguided faunus."

"Misguided?" Weiss' tone was one of disbelief. "They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet."

"So their very misguided," Blake replied in exasperation. "It still doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

Before Weiss could argue further, Ruby interrupted. "Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that torchwick guys I ran into a couple months ago. Maybe it was him?"

'Torchwick?' Bryce wondered. 'Who the Archon is Torchwick. Alpha?'

" _Torchwick is a renowned criminal who resides in Vale. He's wanted for Robbery, Kidnapping, Murder, Extortion, among many other smaller crimes. If Vale has a most wanted list, he's likely near the top of it."_

'Huh. Good to know.'

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"Woe unto those that operate in broad statements," Bryce said idly. The girls ignored him.

"That's not necessarily true," Yang pointed out. Before anyone could say anything else, a loud voice grabbed their attention.

"Hey, stop that faunus!"

Running to where the voice had originated, the approached the docks to see a blond, teenage monkey faunus running away from two guards on one of the passenger ships. As he leapt to the edge, he smiled at them.

"Thanks for the ride, guys." With that, he jumped off the boat, and ran along the dock before hanging on one of the lampposts by his tail. As he did so, one of the guards shouted at him.

"No-good stowaway!"

The blonde guy only smiled as he began to eat a banana. "Hey, a no-good stowaway would've been caught. I'm a great stowaway!" He leaned back just in time to dodge a coconut thrown at his head by one of the two previous detectives.

"Hey," The first one called out. "Get down from there this instant." Instead of a compliant action, he received a banana peel to the face. His face contorted into one of anger, as he glared at the blond boy, who was now laughing at him. With that, the monkey faunus leapt from the lamp post, and began running up from the docks to street level. As he passed the shocked forms of team RWBY, he winked at Blake, causing the secret faunus to stare at him open-mouthed as he ran by. Bryce, for all he was worth, resisted the temptation to trip the blond, as funny as the situation would be.

As the monkey faunus and the police officers began to run further out of view, Yang pointed in their direction. "Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition. And, there it goes."

Weiss, not wanting to miss an opportunity, gasped. "Quick, we must observe him!"

Weiss, Yang, and Ruby rushed off quickly to catch up to the retreating figures, while it took Blake a moment to gather herself together again before she followed. Bryce simply walked, figuring they wouldn't get far before they lost them. If only he knew how right he was.

The four girls rushed blindly after the blond boy and the detectives following him. As they rounded a corner to follow, Weiss ran into someone, causing the entire group who were running to stumble over each other, falling into a jumbled pile of bodies. As Bryce rounded the corner, at his leisurely pace, he was suddenly very glad he'd taken his time, as no amount of previous teasing could keep him from being embarrassed at being mixed up in the mess before him.

"And this is you slow down when turning corners," Bryce mused as he looked at the mess of females before him. Weiss didn't respond to the jab other than glaring at him.

As the girls slowly untangled themselves, Weiss pounded her hand into the ground in frustration at the sight of the blond boy escaping.

"No, he got away!"

Weiss, oblivious to the person beneath her, starred in anger at where the monkey faunus had disappeared till Yang coughed. "Uhhhhh, Weiss." She said, pointing to the still form of an orange-haired girl who lay stiffly on the cement, staring up at Weiss with green eyes, smiling.

"Ahhh!" Weiss jumped up, backing up to the rest of the group.

"Salutations!" The girl's voiced was a little too cheery for comfort.

Uncomfortable, Ruby responded slowly. "Um… hello?"

Yang looked at the girl in a weird mix of concern, confusion, and hesitance. "Are you… okay?"

Still laying on the ground, the girl smiled. "I am feeling wonderful. Thank you for asking."

The four girls looked betweenst each other, discomfort displayed across their faces. Looking back to the girl, Yang said, "Do you want to get up?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes!"

Placing her hands on the ground, she pushed her hands against the ground to perform a kip-up, before turning to the five other people present once here feet were solidly planted. The sudden movement caused team RWBY to take a quick step back from the girl, while Bryce just raised a single eyebrow in her direction.

"My name is Penny. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang quickly received an elbow to the gut from Blake. Yang looked to Blake for an answer why before she realized why Blake had hit her. "Oh, I'm Yang."

Bryce stood silent, watching the scene as there was a lapse of silence, before he realized Penny was looking directly at him, waiting for his name.

"Oh, I'm no one important. Ignore me."

Penny frowned for a second, but her smile returned quickly before anyone could question the look. "Alright, No One Important, I will leave you alone as you asked."

Alpha laughed from inside Bryce's mind. "You deserved that." THe smiles on team RWBY's faces told him they had the same sentiment.

"It's a pleasure to meet that." Penny smiled to all of them.

"You already said that," Weiss pointed out. Penny looked lost for a moment, before nodding.

"So I did."

Weiss, obviously wanting to get this interaction over with, turned the other direction and began to walk away. "Well, sorry for running into you." Ruby waved to the lone girl as the walked.

"Take care, friend."

Once the girls thought they were far enough away, Bryce looked to Penny, whose eyes were wide with excitement.

"And it seems someone invoked the girls attention." Bryce snickered. He quickly caught up to team RWBY to watch the show play out.

Unbeknownst to team RWBY, Penny dashed forward and stood in front of them looking at them, waiting.

"Well, she was weird," Yang muttered. Looking to Ruby and Blake.

"Now, where did that faunus riff-raff go?" Weiss huffed, looking around the area before freezing with the rest of the group when she noticed Penny. Bryce got some popcorn ready, and began to toss pieces into his mouth.

"What did you call me," Penny looked at the group weirdly.

"Oh," Yang paled, "I'm sorry. I definitely didn't think you heard me." As Yang spoke to the Orange haired girl, Weiss looked back between where Penny had been and where she was now in confusion, steam coming from her head as she tried to process what had just happened.

"No, not you," Penny shook her head, as she walked through the group of girls to where Ruby stood, getting uncomfortably close to her. "You."

"Me?" Ruby's voice squeaked as she leaned back. Ruby stumbled over her words as she tried to remember what she'd said to Penny. Needless to say, Bryce laughed quietly at the scene as he chomped down more popcorn. Blake had joined him, also enjoying the scene.

"You called me friend." Penny leaned closer, her eyes wide, hope gleaming in her irises. "Am I really your friend?"

"Um." Ruby leaned to the side just enough to see her team, or more specifically Yang and Weiss shaking their heads and making motions to say 'no.' Bryce and Blake both just ate more popcorn.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Two people immediately face-faulted, while Bryce just laughed harder.

Penny's face lit up, as she squealed in excitement, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Sensational." Penny clasped her hands together as she began to rant. "We can paint our nails, and try on new clothes, and talk about cute boys."

Bryce leaned over to Blake. "Do you have the inkling of a feeling that we should be recording this."

"Yes, I do."

" _I actually have,"_ Alpha spoke quietly to the two, " _I thought the interaction would be quite enjoyable to see more than once, and indeed, it's quite the show. It makes me wish I had my own popcorn to enjoy such a scene."_

"Your A.I. is quite the character." Blake commented.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it."

Back with the other four girls, Ruby leaned close to Weiss as she stood up from her previous face-fault and whispered. "Is this what it was like when you met me?"

"No." Weiss said. "She seem far more coordinated."

"So," Yang rolled her eyes at Weiss' comment, before grabbing the other three girls attention. "What are you doing here in Vale?"

Turning to Yang, Penny smiled. "I'm here to fight in the tournament."

Weiss did a double take. "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

Penny raised a hand to her head in a military salute before lowering it in a swipe. "I'm combat ready."

Weiss snorted. "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl in a dress," Blake said through a mouthful of popcorn.

"And heels," Bryce added.

"It is a combat skirt." Weiss defended. Ruby rushed up to her partner.

"Yea!" Weiss put out a hand, and Ruby high-fived it.

"Notice how she said nothing about the heels," Bryce whispered.

"Wait a minute," Weiss walked towards Penny as if she'd realized something. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey tailed," Weiss hesitated as she searched for a nicer word than the ones she usually used, "rapscallion." Bryce noticed Blake's hand clenching, and took a quick step back, dropping the popcorn in a nearby garbage.

"The who?" Penny looked to Weiss in confusion.

Weiss lifted a poorly drawn and horribly inaccurate representation of the blond they'd been chasing. "The filthy faunus from the boat."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

Turning to Blake, Weiss gave her a questioning look. "Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion." Blake said, stepping closer to Weiss. "Stop calling him a degenerate. He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss said in exasperation, as she stepped away from Penny and towards Blake. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as the trash can?" Bryce flinched at the analogy, knowing it was only going to make things worse. "Or this lamp post as a lamp post?"

"Stop it!" Blake shouted, fists clenching tighter. Her teeth began to grind against each other as she glared at the heiress.

"Stop what," Weiss challenged. "He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join his other faunus in the White Fang."

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake shouted as she turned and began to walk away from Weiss.

Weiss scoffed. "How dare you talk to me like that. I am your teammate."

"Your a judgemental little brat!"

"What in the world makes you say that?"

As Weiss and Blake continued to argue in the background, Bryce approached the two girls and stood next to them.

"Uhh, I think we should go." Yang said tentatively.

"I'm not sure that will stop this from going on." Ruby pointed out as the arguing began to grow in intensity.

"Do you think they'll stop fighting anytime soon?" Yang asked Bryce, who watched the fight play out silently.

…

Bryce's guess was proven to be right. After returning to Beacon, and Bryce reluctantly staying in the room at Ruby's behest, the two continued to argue.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss said in frustration, standing up from the bed she'd been previously sitting on.

"That IS the problem!" Blake said from her bed.

"You realize your defending an organization that hates humanity. The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Blake now stood. "There's no such thing as 'pure evil!' Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like YOU that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

Weiss gasped. "People like me?"

"Your discriminatory!" Blake pushed.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss' outburst froze everyone in the room. Blake even looked shock, but disbelieving. Bryce, on the other hand, was beginning to understand Weiss' reaction. He'd read about the Schnee history briefly on his first day in Remnant, but didn't realize what adverse effect it could have on someone growing up in the family till now.

"You want to know why I despise the white fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" Weiss walked over to the window. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. As in actual bloodshed."

"My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I can remember, board members were consistently executed. My father coming home, constantly furious with everything made a very difficult childhood."

Facing the rest of the people in the room, Weiss continued. "'Schnees don't have friends.' A saying, that for the longest time, I refused to believe. But then, the White Fang made me realize why we don't have friends." Tears welled up in Weiss' eyes as she bit her lip. "Friends disappear after leaving you house one day, only to be found a week later, dead on the side of a the road a week later."

"All of this… made for a very… very difficult childhood."

Ruby approached her partner, and tried to put a hand on her shoulder. "Weiss."

Weiss wheeled around. "NO!" Looking to Blake again as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang! It's because they're a bunch of Liar. Thieves. And Murderers."

Blake snapped. "Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!"

The moment those words came out of Blake's mouth, she regretted them. Weiss recoiled in both shock and disgust, while everyone else froze. Blake tried to say something. But for the life of her, she couldn't think of anything to say that could save her from the inevitable scorn, hate, and judgment she would receive from her team. So she ran.

Bryce stared at the open door that Blake ran out of for a couple seconds, before looking to Weiss.

"Woe unto those who operate in broad statements," He said, "For their worlds shall crumble down around them."

…

As Blake ran further from Beacon, she felt tears begin to run down her cheeks. SHe felt terrible for running away from her team, but… she just couldn't deal with the chance they may react to her poorly. That they wouldn't accept her for what she was, and what she'd do. Far from prying eyes, Blake slowly took off the bow, revealing her cat ears, the fur on them bristling in the wind.

"I knew you would looked better without the bow."


	10. Challenging the Expectations

**HELLO FANBASE WHO HATES ME RIGHT NOW!**

 **IT'S ME, THE MOST INCONSISTENT AUTHOR, DEATHMAYWRITE**

 **I AM ETERNALLY SORRY!**

 **Very seriously, I am sorry for taking so long. It's the end of the year and I got sidetracked with grades because I suck at school. Don't get me wrong, I test well, and I'm smart enough to pass the classes. I just... tend to leave homework for later... until it's late... and three weeks after it's due. Yeah... I have a problem.**

 **REGARDLESS**

 **I have to say thank you to those of you who left reviews and favorited and followed this story. First off,**

 **Favorites:** dandyrr0403. (Let me add, you favorited and followed this story WAY after I posted a chapter, so thank you for giving my story a chance. I do hope you liked it.)

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 **Reviews:**

Gust: Dude, have you even watched Ruby? That's literally what happens to Cardin. Introduced to be a problem to Jaune only to vanish into thin air by the time Season Two, episode two comes around. It's kind of sad really. There's so much potential for them. WHICH, unlike Rooster Teeth (nobody hate me for this) I do plan on taking advantage of. There's a lot I can do with these guys.

Master Shorty 11: Before I answer your review, thank you again for being such a great follower. You've been amazingly supportive since the beginning and I appreciate it so much. Anyway, I'm glad you like the chapter. I hoped it would interest people, as I set up for this chapter. Hopefully, people won't be too angry with this one. And while I do love writing He's not like us, I honestly have more of a desire to write A Grimm Dimension. But that doesn't mean I'm still not working on getting that amazing ending for you guys. I want to make it for all you who've supported the story and help it grow into more than I ever thought it could've been.

 **Whew. With that out of the way, I think it's time to go ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

Challenging the Expectations

Blake sat silently in the cafe, watching the monkey faunus across from her drink his coffee with his tail as she sipped her own tea. He was looking at her expectantly, not saying anything.

"So," Blake said as she set down her teacup, "You want to know more about me."

THe blond threw his hands up in the air. "Finally she speaks. Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks." Blake glared at him. "Like that."

Blake rolled her eyes, a small smile showing on her face, before disappearing just as quick as it came. "Sun… are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course," Sun's voice became condescending, "I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet that hasn't heard of them. Bunch of stupid 'holier than thou' creeps that use force to get whatever they want. A bunch of freaks if you ask me."

Blake calmly took another sip of her beverage. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

Sun's reaction was quick. His eyes widened and he briefly choked on his drink before coughing madly for a couple seconds. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?"

Blake nodded. "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could say I was born into it. Back then, things were different. The White Fang was different. After the ashes of war, the White Fang was supposed to be a symbol of peace and unity between faunus and humans. Of course, despite the best efforts of most, despite the promises made to them, the faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser being. And so, the White Fang rose up to protect us."

Blake sighed. "But, it didn't work. The boycotts, the rallies, none of it made a large enough difference in the end. Five years ago, the first leader of the White Fang stepped down, and a new, younger leader took their place. And with a new leader, came a new way of thinking. Gone were the signs, replaced with weapons. Peaceful protests turned into organized attacks. Setting fire to stores that refused to serve us, and stealing cargo from companies that used faunus labor."

"And the worst part of it all? It was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect. Out of fear."

Blake shakily set down her cup, which she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and stared into the liquid, its still surface showing her reflection. "And so, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. I decided I would instead dedicate my life to becoming a huntress." Bryce's words echoed in her mind.

' _Too powerful to have anyone do anything to us, and yet too different and unknown for people to think of as normal and not discriminate against.'_

"But now… even my reasons for doing that are in question." Blake's voice was soft, scared even. "So here I am. A criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little, black bow."

"So," Sun said, "Have you told your friends any of this."

…

"BLAKE!" Ruby's voice echoed through the weirdly empty streets of Vale as she walked along with Weiss, Yang, and Bryce, looking for Blake.

"Blake!" Yang's voice now joined in the shouting. This had been going on as soon as they had gotten off the bull head.

"BLAKE!" Ruby shouted again. She looked to Weiss, who had her arms crossed and wasn't saying a word. Bryce was in deep thought, walking behind them distractedly.

"Weiss, you're not helping," Ruby whined, before wheeling around to look at Bryce, "And neither are you!"

Weiss merely scoffed, as Bryce didn't' respond, still concentrating on whatever he was thinking about.

"Oh, You know who might be able to help? The police." Ruby merely frowned.

"Weiss."

"It was just an idea," Weiss said.

"Yeah, a bad one."

"Bad one or not, I have been helping more than him so far." Weiss pointed directly to the Septonian that still had yet to look at them. Yang shook her head.

"She's got a point, Bryce. You have been rather despondent today."

Bryce didn't make any move to show he'd realized he was being spoken to. Ruby, despite herself, began to grow more irritated before blowing up.

"BRYCE PAY ATTENTION OR I WILL NEVER SHARE MY COOKIES WITH YOU!" Well, as much as an adorable fifteen-year-old with little social experience and not a single bad bone in her body can.

Bryce made no move to look up from his own thoughts. His eyes were closed tightly, and he wasn't paying any attention to the surrounding area. It wasn't until Yang noticed the expression Bryce wore that she moved to stop Ruby from making further moves to gain the teens attention.

"Bryce? What's up?" Yang layed a single hand on Bryce's shoulder. It took a couple seconds before Bryce finally exited his mind and looked at Yang. It took him another few seconds to realize what was going on around him.

"Sorry… run that by me again, I was a bit… distracted."

Weiss scoffed at the comment. "Distracted is putting it very lightly."

Bryce gave a quick glare in the direction of the heiress. He didn't respond to Weiss, instead choosing to look at the ground with a thousand yard stare. "I've been attempting to locate Blake using my soul sense, but… I'm struggling to find anyone here with how everyone's soul is broadcast like a beacon. And… it's been really off-putting to not feel-" Bryce couldn't continue, gripping his chest tightly.

Bryce shook his head before any of them could say anything. "Either way, I'll try and focus on finding Blake normally. My usual method is getting me nowhere."

"That doesn't change that Blake ran away. We should consider getting the help of the police."

"Why are you so adamant about arresting Blake!?" Yang threw her arms up in the air as she continued to walk down the street looking for Blake.

"The innocent don't run, Yang." Weiss said.

"They do when they've been attacked for something they can't control." Bryce glared directly at Weiss. The heiress flinched a little bit but didn't back down.

"I still think when we find Blake we won't like what she has to say."

"And I think Weiss' hair looks great today," Penny said, smiling.

It took three seconds for people to fully comprehend what had happened and who had spoken. After that time, there was a comical amount of flailing, and Bryce, who Penny had just appeared standing next to, stumbled backward arms flailing around.

"What the Frick! When did you get here!?"

"I've been here the whole time."

"WHAT!"

"I've been standing in this spot since this morning, waiting for you to arrive."

Bryce just stared and the orange haired girl. "And you were waiting here why?"

"Because for the past two days, you always come by this spot. So logically, this was the best place to wait to meet best friend Ruby and Nobody Important."

Bryce sighed as his palm quickly acquainted itself with his forehead. "This is getting really old, really quickly."

"So what are you doing friend Ruby that has caused you to follow this route the past few days."

"Well, we're looking for our friend, Blake."

"Oh, you mean the Cat faunus."

"How'd you know that?" Yang looked at Penny in disbelief.

"The cat ears," Penny pointed to her own head and bow as she spoke.

"What do you mean, cat ears?" Yang started. "She wears… a… bow."

The three girls stared at Penny in a mix of shock and… no, shock was really the only real expression present in that moment. Bryce could only feel like something out there was influencing the universe itself to make this as insane as possible as a tumbleweed rolled by. And they were in the middle of a city… next to the ocean… nowhere near a desert. His brain was beginning to hurt.

"No wonder she likes Tuna so much," Ruby muttered underneath her breath.

"So where is friend Blake?"

"We… don't know. She's been gone since Friday."

"OH. That's terrible." Penny rushed up to Ruby, grabbing her briefly before putting her hands on her hips as she continued on as enthusiastically as ever. "Well don't you worry, Ruby my friend. I won't rest until we find your teammate."

"Wow, that's really nice Penny," Ruby's smile was forced, as she began to feel uncomfortable with how Penny was acting. "But we were planning on really doing this as a team, right guys?"

Ruby looked to the side where here teammates and Bryce were gone. Another tumbleweed rolled by where they had previously been standing.

"My it's windy today."

"Aaaaaaahhhhoooooooo."

…

Bryce had run off with Yang and Weiss the moment they saw the chance to escape from Penny's gaze. Now, he was following behind the two as they continued to argue about Blake and walk. He wasn't worried about it too much at the moment. No, he was more worried about the terrifying fact his Oroma's hadn't stopped. They should've only lasted a few days after the incident, but instead they'd been continuing at a steady pace for days now, haunting his dreams. Even with Alpha's help it was getting difficult to cope with it. The screams of his family, his friends, Natalie. It shook him every time. And without fail, the final one he'd see killed would be Natalie, and in some way, before she finally succumbed to whatever injury she'd received, she'd say something about it being all his fault.

He just wanted it to stop. He wanted all the terrible visions and dreams to stop, but it seems that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. It was scary.

' _Still thinking about the Oromas?'_ Alpha spoke into his mind as to not alert Yang and Weiss of Bryce's internal struggle.

'Why wouldn't I be. This isn't normal Alpha. And it's scaring me. I'm… I'm honestly not sure how much longer I can hold out against this.' Bryce felt fear grip his heart as a particularly bad image of last nights Oroma.

' _Just hang in there a bit longer. They should end soon enough. Just remember, none of it is real. It's just trying to hurt you as much as it can.'_

'Yeah, well, it's succeeding. I'm in a whole lot of pain right now. I… I can't… I can't take much more of this.'

Alpha was quiet for a moment. ' _Just stay strong a little bit longer. I can't promise you anything, but you need to hold out. For their sakes. You can't leave them without giving them a proper goodbye.'_

Bryce didn't respond to Alpha. Instead he took a deep, calming breath, before beginning to help Yang and Weiss ask around if anyone had seen Blake. He'd worry about it later. For now, he needed to focus on finding Blake.

…

Blake watched the shipping yard silently from atop her perch. Sun had told her about the shipment of dust from the Schnee Dust Company, and because she wanted to prove the White Fang's innocence. She knew deep down that it probably was the White Fang… but she wanted to be wrong. She wanted to believe that the White Fang wouldn't stoop so low.

"Did I miss anything?" Sun's voice shook her concentration. She turned to the monkey faunus before shaking her head.

"Not really. They offloaded all the crates from the boat… now they're just sitting there."

"Cool." Sun offered an apple to Blake. "I stole you some food."

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

"..."

"Okay, too soon."

Before Blake could reply, the wind picked up quickly as a Bullhead flew over their heads. They both watched silently as it shot spotlights all around the containers, doing a quick search of the area, before landing. Almost immediately, White Fang members began to walk out of the machine, All of them wearing white masks, and white vests with a very telltale symbol on the back. The red image of the head of a tiger with three slash marks right through it.

"Is that them?"

Blake didn't want to say it. She wanted her eyes to be wrong.

"Yes. It's them."

But they weren't wrong.

Down at the shipping yard, one of the more important looking White Fang members motioned to the others and began barking orders. The two huntsman and huntress-in-training watched silently as they began to hook up tow cables to the shipping crates.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"

Blake couldn't lie to herself anymore. It wasn't going to stand. "No. I knew. Deep down, I knew. I just… didn't want to be right."

Then, Blake heard a voice she never expected to hear. And it shocked her beyond all belief. "Hey! What's the hold up?" Both Sun and Blake watched silently as Roman Torchwick stepped out from the bullhead, cane in hand. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace."

Blake held back a growl as she stared at the ginger-haired criminal. "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Blake drew her blade as she stood up. Before Sun could stop her, she took off, sticking to the shadows, trying to sneak up on the thief as he continued to boss around the White Fang members.

"No you idiot, this isn't a leash."

Blake readied herself to grab Torchwick. Only to feel a small hand grab her throat and a blade be pushed against her neck. She froze. Turning slightly, she could see a small woman grabbing her, an umbrella in her hand with a blade protruding from the top of it. Her brown and white hair offset by her pink clothes and pink and brown eyes. She smiled at Blake, and the cat faunus felt fear grip her heart. This girl wasn't normal.

Roman sighed in frustration as he sent off… whoever it was he'd been talking to. Honestly, the only one of these animals he could deal with was Perry, and sadly he'd been needed elsewhere today by that… 'witch' Cinder.

Roman heard the tapping of a familiar set of heels accompanied by another pair of footsteps. He turned to see the smiling face of his favorite person and partner, holding someone at blade point.

"Neo. Glad to see you're doing your job. What have you brought me?"

Neo didn't say anything, but tapped her feet, as she motioned her head to the girl she'd captured. He looked at the black-haired cat faunus, who was silently glaring at him. No doubt, she was angry at his presence, but he wasn't sure why. Not that he really cared, but it was interesting to wonder why.

"Well, hello there little lady." Roman smiled down at he held her face in one hand. She didn't respond. Instead choosing to spit directly into face. Roman just smirked, wiping the substance off his face. "Well aren't you feisty."

"Why are you working with White Fang? They hate people like you."

Roman laughed. "Well, aren't we misinformed. You see, me and the White Fang are working together for a sort of business venture." He let go of the girls face. She struggled to get out of Neo's grasp. "So Neo found you sneaking around, did she?" The cat faunus looked at Roman surprised. Roman ignored her expression. "I'll be honest, Kitty-Cat. Normally, you would've had the drop on me. But thanks to a certain new threat that we've identified, our security's been a little… tighter." He laughed as he leered at Blake. "And I'm so glad we did, Blake Belladonna."

Blake looked at the man in a mix of fear and shock. He laughed at her as he reached into his suit coat. "Don't look so surprised. It's getting old at this point." Out of his suit coat, Roman pulled an image of Blake, holding a White Fang mask, standing next to… Adam. Blake paled.

"You're little boyfriend was so desperate to get you back. It seems he even went so far as to ask our dear associate to give him any information on your whereabouts." Roman smiled as he pulled out a scroll, taking a snapshot of Neo holding Blake hostage. "It seems I get the rare opportunity to gain some favors from the White Fang."

"No." Blake could barely speak. This had gone downhill so quickly. This isn't what she'd expected to happen. She should've been able to talk some sense into her fellow White Fang members. She should've been able to take on Roman. It shouldn't have ended like this. Where had she gone wrong.

A shadow above her head caught her attention. She watched as Sun dropped from above, slamming his Bo Staff into the ground as Neo separated herself from Blake. Neo smiled playfully at the monkey faunus as he put himself between Blake and the two criminals.

"Oh, you went and got a new boy toy? Wow, Kitty-Cat, Adam will be disappointed that you move on so fast." Roman smirked, as he raised his cane at the two of them. "I hope he doesn't hate me too much for bringing you back in a body bag. Neo, if you would."

Before Sun or Blake could even move, the pink and brown eyed criminal shattered into a million pieces. Blake stood slowly, looking around wildly, trying to spot the mysterious female. Only to scream as she felt something stab through her aura and pierce her shoulder.

…

Bryce was about ready to give up. He couldn't sense anything in this convoluted mess of souls. They all mixed together, making it nye impossible to know where someone was unless you were close to them. It was pretty frustrating. He was starting to give up at this point.

He started to head towards the bullport that would take him back to Beacon. He might as well head back at this point. It was getting quite late at this point. He could continue searching tomorrow. Maybe by then, he'd have enough Omni-energy to expend for a soul-scan. Maybe that'd clear up all the confusion in his sensing abilities. It sure would make this a lot easier.

He froze in an instant. Blake's soul. He could sense it clearly. But why? Why now of all times? Why was it so clear when it had been so blurry earlier? And why did it feel off? What was going-

Pain. Blake was in pain. And her aura had activated to heal the injury. And aura's were directly linked with souls, which meant...

Bryce grabbed onto the location of Blake's soul. No time to think. It was time to act. Bryce felt the location, then pulled with his creation energy. The world blurred as he teleported.

…

Blake grasped her shoulder, leaning against a crate. That girl, Neo, had stabbed her shoulder. She could've killed her, but instead she chose to cause her pain. Why? If the look on her face was anything to go by, it was because the girl was toying with her. The instant Neo had withdrawn her blade from Blake's body, Sun and attacked her, only for the female criminal to shatter into pieces once again. Sun wasted no time grabbing Blake and running. She'd heard Roman shouting orders at the White Fang to get them. Bullets had whizzed by, some rebounding off of Sun's aura.

She looked up at Sun as he fought two White Fang grunts. While they would normally be easy to handle, their determination to get to Blake was causing Sun to have to change tactics. She didn't have her weapon. Neo had confiscated it from the moment she'd been captured by the heterochromatic woman. She was useless in this fight. She had to rely on Sun to get them out alive.

Blake almost felt her worries disappear as Sun began to beat down the two White Fang members. That is, until a familiar looking cane cracked against the back of his head, knocking him out in an instant.

"Whew," Roman sighed, wiping a non existent bead of sweat from his forehead. "Huntsmen are always hard to knock out. Aura makes it so much more difficult to take 'em out it one hit." Roman turned to the fearful Blake, smiling gleefully. "Now, where were we Kitty-Cat?" He looked to the two grunts Sun had been fighting as more approached them, Blakes heart dropping as more joined them. "Grab her."

The White Fang members nodded, silently walking towards her. Before they could really get close to her however, something appeared between them and their target. Or rather someone. It'd happened so suddenly, she wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not. But upon a second look, she realized that her eyes weren't deceiving her. Bryce was standing there, Alpha in his hand. She couldn't see his face, but the fact that he was here settled her nerves. She knew for a fact that Roman could never dream of beating Bryce. If Bryce could take on all those hordes of Grimm and treat it like a game, Roman would be a literal cake walk for the teen.

"So, we leave you alone for two days Blake, and this is what you get into?" Bryce asked, looking over his shoulder at her. He had a playful smile on his face.

"Sorry," she tried to smile, but the pain in her shoulder made it rather hard. Bryce saw it and grimaced.

"It's fine. Just sit tight." Bryce turned back to the White Fang, his eyes gaining a sharpness and cold feeling as he walked towards them. "This will only take a moment."

"Would you idiots stop standing there and get him!" Roman roared, as he backed up from Bryce. "He's the threat Cinder informed us about. Take him out!"

Blake felt a small bit of worry. Was he the threat Roman had been warned about? Who knew about Bryce? Who was so worried about him that they'd increase security just because of him?

Bryce let out a sigh as the goons charged him. He felt his heart shake for a second. He hated to do this, but he had to. It was necessary, after all.

Blake only watched in silent horror as a burst of heat and a bright light exploded from in front of Bryce. The screams off the White Fang filled the air as a beam of plasma killed them almost instantly. Blake stared at the gruesome scene before her as the burned and melted bodies fell to the ground, frozen in fear. Her mind couldn't think at all as she stared silently at the dead bodies of the White Fang on the ground. Roman Torchwick looked shocked at the sudden attack, as well as the brutality of it. He clutched his arm, or rather, where his arm had been, as it had been burned off by the attack.

"I missed." Bryce's voice was monotonous, his eyes showing no real emotion. At least, at first glance. Looking deeper, Blake could tell there was a large amount of anger buried underneath his irises. "It won't happen again, Torchwick."

"Neo!" Roman shouted the name as a ball of energy formed in front of Bryce once again as he stared down the criminal. Bryce narrowed his eyes as the heterochromatic female appeared from seemingly nowhere in front of Roman. Bryce didn't wait another second, releasing the energy gathered up in front of him. A plasmas bubbled for a brief second before shooting forward, almost twisting to hit the try and swarm the two criminal from every side. Just as the super-heated ionized gas was about to overtake Roman and Neo, their forms shattered into pieces. Bryce waved a hand and the attack disappeared instantly.

Bryce scanned the area visually, before taking to the sky, and looking for any sign of the criminals and their escape. He found nothing. And because of the beacons that were Remnant's inhabitants souls, he couldn't locate the two of them, even with Roman's active aura. He was long gone as far as Bryce could tell.

"Tch." Bryce scowled as he fell to the ground. "They got away."

Bryce looked at Blake, who was still sitting perfectly still, staring at the bodies before her. Bryce simply ignored her for a moment to take care of her fallen ally. Bryce walked up to the Monkey Faunus before pumping a small amount of creation energy into the man, healing his wounds faster than his aura could. The man slowly groaned as he came to consciousness seconds later.

"Ow. My head feels like a bullhead decided to practice crash landings on it." Sun sat up slowly. Once he looked at Bryce he jumped, instantly reaching for his absent weapon.

"Hey, calm down," Bryce said, raising his hands. "I'm friendly. I promise."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Sun asked accusingly.

"Blake, do you know me?" Bryce looked over his shoulder at the silent cat faunus. Blake just looked on blankly, nodding her head. "See?"

Sun just narrowed his eyes in distrust. Instead of pushing the issue, Sun turned to walk over to Blake. "Hey, Blake. You okay? You look like you've see-" Sun can't finish what he's saying as soon as he sees the bodies. The ashen remains of what had once been living, breathing people. He felt vile substances rise up in his throat as he began to vomit out the apple he'd previously eaten. Bryce just smiled sadly, standing next to the teen, patting his back.

"Let it all out, bud. Let it ALL out."

"why…"

Blake's voice had been so quiet, Bryce wasn't sure for a moment if she had really spoken or if he was just imagining it.

"Pardon?"

"Why? Why would you do that?" Blake's voice began to rise as she rounded on Bryce. "Why did you kill them?"

"It needed to be done, Blake," Bryce said, his eyes not betraying his emotions. "They were the enemy."

"How does that make this okay, Bryce!?" Blake screamed, gesturing to the dead bodies as she advanced towards the Septonian. "You didn't have to kill them! You could've just as easily knocked them out. I know it wouldn't have been that hard for you. What did they do to deserve… deserve this!"

"You know exactly what they've done to deserve this, Blake. You've seen it first hand."

Blake took a step back. "W-what."

"I know what you are, or more specifically, what you were. It's not hard to see, especially when one has access to all of Ozpin's files." Bryce paused to let that sink in before continuing. "You've seen what the White Fang do, Blake. They don't care anymore about innocents. They don't care for equality. They're just a machine for vengeance and war. These people were not good people, you know this."

"That doesn't mean they deserve this!"

"YES, IT DOES!"

Blake looks on quietly in fear as Bryce's eyes are filled with anger and malice, not unlike the times when he talked about how his own species is treated. "I've seen what people like them do, Blake. I've LIVED through what they do. I've FOUGHT what they do. I can understand why they want to fight, the desire to not be discriminated against is a good reason to fight, but this is TOO FAR! Look me in the eyes and tell me that the White Fang hasn't become a terrorist group in recent years. Look me in the eyes and tell me how they can change. Because no matter what you say, I've seen the damage people like them have caused. Families murdered, torn apart, among other terrible things. Homes, towns, cities, destroyed. Entire countries, burned because of they sided with those being treated poorly. ALL OF IT because of people like them! People who decide that hurting others with senseless violence don't get a second chance."

"That doesn't give you the right to kill them!"

"Oh, and what? Leave them alive so that their buddies can break them out and continue their rampage? Let them go to prison where they'll never change and adamantly avoid changing for the better? They'll always try and hurt people, Blake. No arrest is going to change that. So it's either let them wait for their next chance, either out on the streets or in prison, or make sure they can never hurt someone again."

"You're just continuing the violence."

"I'M PROTECTING PEOPLE THE WAY I KNOW HOW!"

Neither of them spoke. They just stared at each other. The only sound was their heavy breathes, and the hurls of a still puking Sun.

"No." Blake shook her head, refusing to look at Bryce. "No. What you did was wrong. You shouldn't have killed them, Bryce. That wasn't your choice to make?"

"Then whose choice was it, Blake." Bryce's voice was low, almost growling. "It certainly wasn't theirs, because they sure weren't going to kill themselves. Should I have just let them kill us? Because that's what they were intending to do. This isn't just a street brawl. It's terrorism, and its war. In war, you kill the enemy so that they don't get a second chance to hurt people you care about. Whether you like it or not, it was necessary to keep people safe in the future."

"No. There had to be another option. There's always another option!"

"THERE NEVER WAS ANOTHER OPTION, BLAKE! THERE NEVER IS!"

Blake just shook her head. "No, there always is. You just chose not to take it."

Bryce glared at the shaking figure of the cat faunus. Sirens could be heard in the distance. The police would be here soon. Neither person tried to argue their side anymore. Instead, Bryce just scoffed, before turning around. "I'm going to go gather up anything they left or any remaining White Fang members. Call me when the police get here."

He moved to leave, only for someone to grab his arm. He looked to see Blake holding his arm. She had tears in her eyes, but wouldn't look at him.

"Don't… don't kill them. Please."

Bryce didn't respond, instead choosing to pull his arm from Blake's grasp. As he turned the corner leading to where the criminals had originally landed, he looked directly at her. "I make no promises."

Blake didn't say anything. She just let Bryce walk away before falling to the ground, crying. She slowly reached forward, barely wanting to touch the bodies in front of her, but she felt she needed to. She grabbed one of the burnt hands, still hot to the touch. She didn't draw away as it began to burn her hand.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "It didn't have to be like this."

…

"Let me see if I understand this correctly, Mr. Anderson." Ms. Goodwitch started, staring at him from over the screen of her large scroll, as she typed down their conversation within this interrogation room. "You killed nine White Fang members and burned away the arm of Roman Torchwick to protect Ms. Belladonna, after finally locating her position and teleporting to it?"

"Yes."

"Why? Surely you could've let them live."

"And let them continue to hurt people? I don't think so, Ms. Goodwitch."

"I understand that, but still. Was killing them necessary?"

"One thing that I learned early on, Ms. Goodwitch, is that when something threatens to harm the ones you love, you can't simply just stop it and push it in the other direction. Sometimes, you need to stop it from moving ever again."

"Really?" Ms. Goodwitch looked at the young man in surprise, not expecting to hear such words from the young man. "And pray tell why that would be?"

Bryce looked at her blankly. "When I was five, the town my family and I were living in, Katasadoa, was attacked by a group of terrorists. Everyone who could fight was called to defend the village. And I mean everyone."

Ms. Goodwitch felt her eyes widened as she realized the implication of what Bryce was saying. "I fought for my life for the first time that day. That day, I defeated one of them in combat. When he begged for mercy, instead of killing him, I let him go. I let him live, hoping he had learned his lesson. I was only five at the time, after all. I was naive. I hoped it could be like all the comic books and fictional stories I'd read. The hero comes and fights the villain, only for the villain to realize their mistakes." Bryce laughed bitterly. "That didn't happen.

"Two years later, we were attacked again. This time, they took us by surprise. Bailey, one of my closest friends, was nearly killed in the attack. I watched from down the street as a man shot her through the stomach with an assault rifle. He laughed as he smashed his foot into her broken dying body." Bryce's fist clenched. "It was the same man I'd let live, who'd begged me for mercy." Bryce's face went dark. "I didn't show him mercy the second time around."

Bryce didn't look up at Ms. Goodwitch. "That day, I promised myself and my family something. I would no longer hesitate. To hesitate is to die. To hesitate is to let your loved ones die. I wouldn't let those who decided to harm others for the sake of it live. I couldn't let them endanger any more people just because I couldn't finish the job. That day, I promised I'd kill whenever it was necessary."

 **DUN DUN DDDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!**

 **And we see the clash of cultures, as well as Bryce's first major character flaw. His overwhelming desire to make sure his enemies can't hurt anyone again, even if it isn't necessary. Hopefully you all like this chapter, and whether you do or you don't, I'd love to hear your opinion in a review. Make sure to favorite and follow if you enjoy. Now, I'll be coming out with a short OMAKE chapter, that I hope you'll enjoy. Which means I probably won't be done till next month. Even though I'll have paper copy completed by tomorrow. Yeah... it's that bad. That's besides the point. I'll see you guys later, and as always STAY COOl.**


	11. Omake

**Hello everyone. It seems I got to this a lot faster than I was expecting too. That's definitely a good thing. Hopefully, I can keep this up. Anyway, I promised a short Omake, and here, for you, is a short Omake. Hope you all enjoy it.**

Omake: A False Future

The blanket the two nineteen-year-olds had decided to cuddle up in was smaller than they'd thought it was. The fluffy, red blanket was comfortable, though, so they'd forgive it just this once.

Bryce ran a finger through Natalie's hair. They'd both long forgotten the movie playing in front of them. Now, they were just content to be close to each other, enjoying the pleasure and warmth the other provided.

Natalie hummed in content as Bryce ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the sensation provided. It was comforting.

"Sometimes I wonder if you have any Nekotama blood in you. You purr like one every time I do this."

"Oh?" Natalie smiled, leaning back further into Bryce's chest so she could look up at him with a wry smile. "Does someone have a fetish for cat girls."

"Please, we both know it's not me. Now, if we were to talk about Miles." Both of them snickered.

"Fair point. If I remember correctly, of the three girls he's ever shown interest in, all three of them had Nekotama traits. And isn't Bailey half Nekotama?"

"Yup."

"Interesting," Natalie grinned like the Cheshire Cat, "I'll have to tease her about that."

Bryce just nodded as Natalie began to plan how she would tease her best friend. After a bit of letting her maniacally plan her teasing, Bryce began to run his hand through her hair again. Natalie quickly let out a sigh of content, feeling happiness run through her veins, not wanting to move from her spot. After sitting comfortably like this for half an hour, Bryce leaned down and kissed his girlfriend's head.

"Hey, I need to get up for a second." Bryce slowly lifted the black haired beauty off himself so he could move properly. Natalie whined as Bryce stood up.

"Nooooo," She flopped down comically on the couch. "My pillow."

Bryce stretched briefly before turning to Natalie. "Hey, we need to talk." The shift in tone caused Natalie to sit up.

"What's up?"

Bryce sighed. It took him a second to gather his thoughts. "I'll come straight out with it. I can't love you as a girlfriend anymore."

Natalie felt her heart shatter into thousands of pieces. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt herself on the verge of falling into a sobbing mess. The man she'd been with for four years was telling her he didn't love her anymore?

"W-what d-do you-" she stopped as Bryce raised his hand, silencing her.

"I wasn't done. I can't love you as a girlfriend anymore because… because I…" Bryce took a deep breath before continuing. "I love you as more than a girlfriend."

Natalie stayed quiet as Bryce continued. "It's been a long four years for us. A decent part of it was spent separated from each other. But… even as young and immature as I am, I'm smart enough to recognize how deeply in love with you I am."

Bryce chuckled. "It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud. Most people would think we're too young to fall in love so deeply yet, but… I can't deny how I feel." Bryce looked directly into Natalie's, her beautiful blue orbs still filled with unshed tears. "So I can't love you any longer as a girlfriend," Bryce said as he got down on one knee, pulling a small, white box from his pocket as he did so. Natalie gasped as he lifted the lid on the box, revealing a beautiful, golden ring. In the middle of it was a circular gem, that was constantly shifting colors, from a deep red to royal purple, sky blue, emerald green, and so many more rich colors.

"Natalie Viewman, will you let me love you as a wife?"

Natalie didn't respond at first, hands covering her mouth as tears streamed down her face. Bryce felt he had taken it too far for a moment, and went to apologize when something slammed into him. Bryce dropped the box holding the ring to the floor, as he wrapped his arms around Natalie who was now on top of his downed form. From his position on the ground, Bryce could feel a fist lightly hitting his chest.

"Y-you… massive. Idiotic. Jerk." Each word was emphasized by a punch, as well as water hitting his gray shirt. Natalie was smiling though. After a moment she leaned forward and lay down on top of him, nestling into his chest. She didn't say anything, instead choosing to hug him tightly.

"So…" Bryce started, slowly. "Is that a yes."

Natalie laughed, before kissing her new fiancee's lips. "Of course it is. I love you too much to let some other girl have you."

"Oh thank Omni," Bryce let out a huge sigh of relief, which surprised Natalie. "I was so terrified for a second you were going to say no." She looked directly into his eyes, her emotion quickly changing to childish anger.

" _You_ were scared? Jerk, you had me terrified for a good minute there." She made sure this point hit home by punching it in. Bryce just laughed.

"Okay, I deserve that."

"Hm, got that right." Natalie let her head fall back onto his chest. She purred softly as Bryce ran his hand through her hair.

"Once again, I swear you have Nekotama blood in you."

"I'll take a blood test later. For now, let me enjoy this."

They sat there silently for a moment, enjoying the feelings they had as best they could. Bryce finally sat up, turning Natalie so he would be leaning against him in his lap as he grabbed the box, still containing the ring.

"I'd rather put this on you before you can say no." Natalie just smiled as she extended her left hand to him. He slides the ring onto her ring finger, the ring perfectly sized for her.

"It's beautiful Bryce. Where'd you get it?'

"I didn't." When Natalie looked at him in confusion, Bryce smiled broadly. "I made it." Bryce pointed to the stone on the ring. "I found everything needed to make the ring normally, then I made it using Dad's old forge. Afterward, I got the necessary permission to go mine some Chroma, and then polished it to fit the ring."

Natalie just smiled happily at her soon-to-be husband, before giving him a kiss. "You're amazing."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Nats. You're pretty amazing too."

Natalie nodded. "You're right, I am amazing." They both laughed. The both wrapped their arms around each other before moving to the couch once again, this time laying down, cuddling as close together as they could.

"You know," Bryce said, "We really don't act like any real young adult couple."

The young bride-to-be just laughed. "After what we've gone through during our relationship, I don't think we can really expect otherwise." Bryce didn't respond verbally, instead choosing to put his forehead against hers.

"No matter what the world ever says, know that you're beautiful. Of everything out there, you're my favorite thing to look at."

Natalie giggled. "That's just because I'm a model." Bryce looked to the side as if he were contemplating something.

"Well… that certainly doesn't hurt." They both laughed as they settled even closer into each other's arms, curling up in the blanket once more.

The two of them sat there cuddled up together, faces inches apart before Bryce kissed Natalie. After a long moment, he pulled away slowly, her face flushed.

"I still don't know why that always gets me," Her grumbling made her look adorable, which brought forth a smile on Bryce. He kissed her again, and this time, she kissed him back. They sat there for a long time, not a care in the world. The only thing that mattered was their love for each other.

When they finally separated to breath, they didn't dare say a word. Instead, they let their hearts speak for them, as they curled up into each other, holding to each other tightly. They put all their emotions and feelings into the next words they spoke.

"I love you, Natalie."

"I love you too, Bryce."

The two slowly drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

…

Bryce woke up slowly. He looked bleary-eyed at the ceiling. Not recognizing it, he sat up to try and get his bearings. It took him a second to recognize where he was. He was in the dorm room at Beacon Academy. He still was stuck in this other dimension. He wasn't home.

Still, Bryce felt content. It'd been the first dream in a month after the attack that wasn't an Oroma. In fact, it'd felt like the opposite of an Oroma. Like an… he wasn't even sure if there was a term for it. He'd have to ask Alpha later. Whatever it was, he was glad for it. It gave him a small bit of hope that he'd desperately needed.

"I promise, Natalie," Bryce whispered to himself. "I'll make that dream come true. I just have to get home first."

Bryce clenched his hand into a fist before laying back down. "I promise."

…

Natalie woke up to tears running down her cheeks. For a brief second, she couldn't think of why. Then, her dream came rushing back to her. And she screamed.

Her parents were in her room in seconds. They both ran in to see their sixteen-year-old daughter crying, holding a photo of her and Bryce to her chest.

The parents look at each other briefly, almost immediately understanding the problem. Her mother was the first to reach her, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Ssshhhh… it's okay sweetie. Deep breathes, remember?" Natalie nodded as her mother calmed her panicking daughter. It only took a moment before her father also began to comfort the sobbing teen.

"What happened, baby girl?" He asked Natalie. "Another Nightmare?"

"No," Natalie shook her head, leaning into the safety of her parent's arms, gulping back the lump that kept forming in her throat as she cried. "I-it wasn't a nightmare. It was so much worse."

The parents silently waited for their daughter to calm down enough to speak again. After a long time, Natalie finally started to speak again. "We we-were nineteen. He was alive, Mom. He was alive, and we were still together, a-and… and... " Natalie couldn't finish talking, instead of bursting into more tears.

"It hurts. It hurts so much mom." Natalie buried her head into her mother's chest as she cried, her throat beginning to become raw. "I-i just know it can't come true anymore, and it hurts. It hurts because I know it's a lie. I… I… we just… can't be happy." Natalie sat there crying for a long time before she found words once more that could truly say anything.

"We didn't even have a chance."

 **Ha ha ha ha ha, you expected a happy ending in the beginning, didn't you. SHAME! I shall never make my characters happy... NEVER E-EVER Eeeeevvvvveeerrrr (Begins to sob at the cruelty he will force upon his own characters) Oh what kind of horrible person am I? How could I do this to the poor girl? Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh**

 **Bryce: Death-san (name courtesy of Intanimulli) is currently crying like a four year old child at the pain he plans to inflict on us in the future. As such, he can't come to wish you all well. So, instead, I bid you all adeu. And, as Death-san would say it, STAY COOL.**


	12. A Change of Pace

Chapter Eleven: A Change of Pace

Roman only felt pain as he and Neo appeared in the hidden Warehouse where they'd been bringing all their stolen goods. Blood covered the burned skin where his arm had once been. Neo looked ready to cry as she looked closer at Roman's poor state of health. This was bad. This was beyond bad. That kid had entirely destroyed Roman's aura and burned off his arm, along with killing several White Fang, in a single moment. It'd been almost terrifying how easily it'd happened.

"Roman." The two looked up to see Cinder walking slowly up to them. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. Especially without the dust I told you to retrieve."

Roman could barely form coherent words as the adrenaline of the fight began to leave him, and the pain hit him full force. Neo could feel panic rising up in her. She didn't know how to treat this. She'd been Roman's partner for so long, and had patched up many of his wounds. But this? This was beyond out of her league. Plasma burns were beyond what most people knew how to treat.

"Nothing to say for yourself?" Mercury, who was sitting on one of the crates mocked. "Well, sucks for you, doesn't it?"

"Quiet Mercury," Cinder chided the assassin. "It seems Roman came across our 'problem.' After all, I sincerely doubt any of the other student at Beacon or even the police could've caused such precise damage to our dear friend."

"You got that right." Roman growled, quite literally as pain racked his body. "He showed up after two other beacon kids showed up. One moment, it's just the White Fang, Me, and the weird cat girl our boy Adam had been looking for, the next, he literally appeared out of nowhere. Next thing I know, the nine White Fang members who were with me are dead, burned to death by a bright light, and I'm missing an arm."

Cinder paused at that. "What do you mean, a bright light."

Roman gripped the remaining part of his arm tightly. "Plasma. The kid just shot plasma out from in front of him like it was nothing. No gun, no weapon, just pure, overheated energy that wiped out all of my guys. Didn't even blink that he'd killed them. Instead, he tried to finish the job." Roman felt his pain dying, and with it, his usual snark returning. "I don't really get what their teaching those kids, but last I checked, that isn't it."

"Really?" Cinder felt her interest only grow. This boy was quite the enigma of power. No wonder her mistress had warned her about him. It seems there were extra precautions that were needed. "Well then, looks like we'll have to be more careful in the future. But let's start by repairing that arm of yours."

...

Blake sat perfectly still in the middle of her bed. The images of what had happened ran through her mind vividly, plaguing her ever thought. Her team had come to pick her up after the incident at the docks and she'd rather slowly went with them, still shaken up by what Bryce had done to the White Fang. When she finally fell asleep, nightmares of Bryce becoming like Adam plagued her mind. She wanted to forget it all, but she couldn't. The images were burned in her memory more than any crime she'd committed while working for the White Fang.

Blake looked to her right at the sleeping faces of Weiss and Ruby. She could hear the snoring sounds of Yang above her. She wanted to talk to them about all this, but she wasn't sure how to do that. She didn't want to let herself be vulnerable, yet to talk to them, she'd have to do exactly that. She hated being vulnerable. It always ended in pain. But part of her felt it wouldn't this time. She felt like that part of her was right. She hoped it was.

…

It'd been six days since the 'incident,' And Yang was mad. Ever since that day, neither Blake or Bryce had said a word about what happened, and the monkey-boy who'd also been there, she was pretty sure his name was Sun, was recovering in the hospital and was sworn to secrecy by Blake apparently. The visit Yang had just had with him made sure of that.

When she finally got to the cafeteria, she sat down next to Ruby, fuming.

"Why on earth will no one tell me what's going on?!" Yang said as she slammed her fist into the table, cracking it. "What happened?!"

"Yang." Weiss replied as she ate her salad, "Calm down, you're breaking the table. You know how Ms Goodwitch gets about the tables."

"I don't care! This is driving me insane." Yang looked to her left and pointed at Bryce, who was eating silently. "And you're not helping!"

"I told you earlier, Yang, I won't divulge anything until Blake feels like she wants to talk about it. I'm not going to throw her under the bus like that."

"Well, it's kind of hard to talk to her when she's NOT HERE!" Yang yelled as she motioned around the full cafeteria. And Blake was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she wants some time to herself?" Jaune suggested. "I know that always helps me when something difficult happens to me."

"Being alone is the last thing she needs right now." Nora said. "It's important you all talk to her and address the issue at face value."

Both teams RWBY, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Bryce looked at Nora in surprise. It took a second before Pyrrha said, "How did you learn that, Nora?"

"Oh, you know, psychology books and essays I read." Nora waved her hand at the comment as if it where no big deal.

"Why'd you learn about that?" Jaune said, genuinely concerned and confused. Before Nora could reply, Yang jumped in.

"That's exactly why I feel we need to corner Blake right now and address this problem TODAY!" Yang emphasized the word by slamming her fist into the table again, which shattered it in two.

Ruby, who up until this point had been enjoying her cookies, stiffened as they fell to the floor with the two halves of the table. Looking at Yang and the horror that played across her face, she decided she'd wait to yell at her sister.

"Ms. Xiao-Long!"

Yang froze when she heard Ms Goodwitch's voice from across the hall, before turning slowly to face her.

"Ms. Xiao-Long, we have discussed this before during the food fight incident, do NOT break tables!" Ms. Goodwitch glared at Yang, who was withering under the intense gaze. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch." Yang nodded quickly. Ms Goodwitch simply nodded, before waving her hand, riding crop in hand, and the table pieced itself back together. The cookies, however remained on the floor, much to Ruby's disappointment and Bryce's silent enjoyment of the situation.

As Yang sat down, Ruby looked back to Bryce. "Can you just give us a hint. Please?"

"Ruby, I told you earlier, this is on Blake to tell you what happened. She's the one that wants to keep quiet about it right now, and I'll respect that, even if she doesn't exactly trust me right now."

"Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-"

"Stop it."

"If you don't tell us right now," Yang started. "I'll-"

"You'll do what, Yang? Hurt me? That won't work or help your case. Threaten me? Reveal my identity? Be a bully? There's nothing you can do to me that would be worth your time, especially when Blake is the one who needs your help."

Yang glared at Bryce, fists shaking. Finally, after a full, tense minute, Yang huffed before grabbing Weiss and Ruby and began dragging them out of the cafeteria.

"Come on guys, we've got to go find Blake because someone won't talk."

As the three of them disappeared, Ren spoke for the first time during the conversation. "Are you sure that was a good idea, Bryce? You seem to have made Yang very angry."

"Yeah, man. Can't you just tell them a little bit?" Jaune added. Bryce chuckled softly before he responded.

"They need to hear it from Blake first. Because I can promise that they won't like what they hear from me."

…

Blake sat near the back of the library, reading, eating her lunch as she read. She wasn't sure what book she was reading. She didn't even know the main-character's name. But that wasn't the point. It only needed to distract her from the fact she wasn't with her team. For six days, she'd tried to work up the courage to talk to them, but every time, she failed. She just couldn't talk about… any of what had happened without remembering the bodies of the White Fang members.

Blake's ear twitched slightly as she heard someone approaching. Looking up from her book, she spotted Yang walking towards her rather quickly. Blake knew what she wanted. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. In a rush of movement, before Blake could get up from the chair, a red blur tackled her, keeping her from getting up.

"What-" Blake started to say something, only to be interrupted by Ruby slapping a hand over her own mouth.

"Shhhhhhh!" Ruby said, "We're in the library."

Blake shook Ruby's hand off her mouth before saying once again, "What are you doing?"

"We need to talk." Yang answered, having now reached where Blake was.

"We have nothing to talk about."

"See, that's where you're wrong, Blake. We have a lot to talk about." Weiss said as she also approached the runaway teammate.

"I'd rather not talk about it, guys. Maybe later." Blake replied.

"No!" Yang yelled, moving closer to Blake. Recognizing her sisters intent, Ruby tried to stop her.

"Yang, calm down-"

"No, Ruby. I've lost my patience with being calm." Yang grabbed Blake and lifted the fearful faunus to eye level with her. "I've tried so hard to be patient with you Blake. I was so sure that you knew we would help you and eventually you'd come to us. But no, you keep running away from us. It needs to stop, NOW!"

"Yang-" Blake tried to defend her actions, only to be cut off again.

"No, you don't get to talk yet! You haven't been willing to talk this entire time. You haven't… you haven't trusted us." Yang's voice faltered. Blake saw tears running down Yang's face. After a long moment of silence, Yang continued. "Was it me? Could you not trust me, Blake? Did I do something to break your trust? Was I not good enough as a partner?"

Blake didn't say a word as she watched her partner break down. She didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't want to tell her team anything, as she was scared to trust anyone. Yet, she could see how her choice was hurting her team. Blake felt a small hand grab hers comfortingly.

"Blake." Weiss said as she gripped her hand, "We just want to help. You can trust us, I promise."

"We're a team, right?" Ruby said, as she hugged her sister. "Team's are supposed to help each other, right?"

Blake was quiet for a long moment, before she finally nodded. "You're right. You're right, and I'm sorry. It's just... difficult to trust, even when I know your trustworthy. I was worried how you would react."

"Blake, you're worrying us more by not telling us." Yang said as she wiped the tears from her face. "We just want to help you Blake."

Blake nodded before looking around the Library. "I'll tell you guys everything, I promise. But…"

"But what?" Yang's voice began to regain some of the lost frustration.

"Can we please talk back in the room. I don't feel comfortable talking about it here."

"Oh… yeah, sure."

...

Now back in their room, each of the girls sat on their respective beds. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang sat quietly as Blake tried to gather her thoughts well enough to tell them what had happened.

"Where do you guys want me to start?"

"Right when you ran off sounds like a great starting point." Weiss said. The glare Yang sent her made her quickly realize her mistake. "Sorry."

"No, that's a good place to start." Blake took a deep breath before continuing. "That night, I was scared. I feared the reaction you all would have. So I ran. After meeting Sun, the monkey faunus from earlier that day, I tried to stay hidden for the next few days, until I learned of a shipment of dust coming in from the Schnee dust company. I thought it would be a great opportunity to prove that the recent attacks on dust shops weren't White Fang."

"Why'd you do that?" Ruby asked innocently.

"Honestly?" Blake laughed sadly before she continued. "I knew they were the ones attacking the shops, in my heart. I just didn't want it to be true. I wanted to believe a small piece of the White Fang I used to be a part of still existed. So I decided to stake out the shipment and find proof of the White Fang's innocence. Sadly, I was proven wrong. Or right, if I'm being honest." Blake went quiet. Silence remained for a full minute.

"What happened next?" Yang asked slowly.

"The White Fang came. They arrived in a couple Bullheads and as they were getting off, Roman Torchwick got off, yelling orders to the White Fang. In that moment, I didn't think. I just acted. I left my hiding place to try and capture Roman. I never made it to him. His bodyguard caught me, Neo I think her name was. Disarmed me and took me to Roman so he could decide what to do with me. It was a terrifying feeling, knowing I couldn't fight back. To know that I was weak. They planned on giving me back to one of the White Fang leaders that knew me when I worked for them. Luckily, before that could happen, Sun intervened and saved me."

"Remind me to thank monkey-boy later than," Yang said.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that. Sadly, we didn't get very far before the White Fang caught up to us, and with Sun being the only one with a weapon, prepared to fight back when Roman snuck up and knocked him out. I was trapped. I felt for sure I was doomed. That was when Bryce showed up."

Blake took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat before she continued. "I thought it was a stereotypical hero moment. I figured everything was fine. But… I was so wrong." Blake stopped again, the memories reappearing in her mind. Tears began to well in her eyes.

"What happened, Blake?" Yang asked as she put her hand on her partner's shoulder.

"After Bryce arrived he… he… he killed them."

It took a moment for the words to process within the rest of team RWBY's minds. When it did, the shock and horror of the thought froze all three of them. Seeing their reaction, Blake continued, emboldened by their similar reaction to hers.

"He appeared, smiled at me, then burned them all in a burst of heat and light. He even burned off Roman Torchwick's arm. When he realized he hadn't killed Roman, he tried again, but his bodyguard used her semblance to help them escape."

"Than," Blake laughed bitterly, "He just turned around and acted like nothing had happened. He just went and healed Sun and talked as if this were normal. And when Sun began to puke at the sight of the dead bodies, he just patted him on the back and told him to 'let it all out' like he just needed to get the horror for seeing dead bodies out of his system."

"But he's a good person." Ruby said. "He's… he wouldn't-"

"And yet he did, Ruby. And the worst part of it all is when I confronted him on the issue, he acted as if he was in the right, and I was in the wrong to say he shouldn't have killed them."

Minutes passed after Blake had finished talking. And yet, no one could bring themselves to say a word. After sitting quietly for most of the question, Weiss finally added her piece.

"Before we go any further, I feel it would be most beneficial for us all to address the issue with Bryce and hear his side of the story."

"I would agree with that." Yang said, her fists gripping and ungripping. "No wonder he wouldn't tell us what happened."

Ruby, however, was less responsive than normal. She nodded slowly as she tried to understand what to think and how to respond to how Bryce had acted. Her differing views on heroes, heroism, and Bryce's previous actions, she wasn't sure what to think of the situation.

"Fine," Blake agreed. "Let's go find him and hear his side. But I can promise you that you won't like answer."

…

" _You know they will confront you about the docks once they hear Blake's side of the story."_

"I know that Alpha," Bryce said as he walked back from the cafeteria.

" _What are you planning on telling them?"_

"The truth. All of it."

" _You know they won't accept it. It may be better just to agree with them for now and change your actions till they come to understand more fully your side."_

"As much as I would love to agree with you Alpha, I can't do that. I'm not going to break that promise just because it goes against this world's 'personal' morals. It's not against the law to act in self-defense and I know from my research there are other Huntsmen and Huntresses who do the same."

" _Still, these people are your friends. Are you willing to become a monster in their eyes?"_

"Sometimes what people need is a monster who can get the job done. And I'd rather be a monster and have my friends alive than good person and have them die."

" _Alright. I just worry that in this world, being the monster is unnecessary."_

Bryce let out a sigh. "You may be right on that. I'll give it some thought, but not right now." Bryce turned the last corner to head to his room, only to see all of team RWBY gathered outside of it, with an angry Yang banging on the door.

"Open up, Bryce! We know you're in there, so you might as well come on out."

Rather than tell them he wasn't in his room, Bryce approached them quietly before coming to stand behind the group just outside of their vision. Whatever was about to happen would be entertaining.

"Did anyone think that he might not be in there. He could still be in the cafeteria." Weiss suggested.

"He's never in the cafeteria for long. He hates the amount of people that are trying to get on his good side in there." Yang pointed out as she pounded on the door again. "Come on, Bryce!"

"He won't answer." Blake said. "He knows we're going to want to talk to him about this."

"I think he'd answer the door if he were here. He wouldn't want Yang to break down the door." Weiss said. When she saw the look on Yang's face, she paled.

"Yang, please don't. We had this discussion with Dad before we left for Beacon." Ruby pleaded.

"Too late!" Yang yelled as she cocked back her fist. Then she punched the door off its hinges, sending it to the floor inside of Bryce's room. When she charged inside, only to find no one in the room, she turned to her team in confusion. And that was the exact moment she saw Bryce standing right behind them trying not to laugh.

"You!" Yang said, pointing an accusatory finger at Bryce as he finally lost all control and started laughing. "Why didn't you answer the door?"

"It's rather hard to answer a door when your still walking back to the room. Especially if when you get there, there's four people surrounding it."

Yang didn't respond to the jab, instead choosing to point inside his room. "We need to talk. Now."

"Hold your horses, Yang. I have to fix the door you just murdered." Blake flinched at the word murder. Bryce noticed it, but said nothing, instead he waved the rest of team RWBY inside as he picked up the pieces of the destroyed door and put them in a pile near the door frame. After a brief moment to gather his thoughts, Bryce sent a small piece of Creation energy into the pile and watched it reform itself back into pristine condition.

Stepping into his room, Bryce waved up four chairs for the girls to sit in while Bryce sat down on his bed.

"Well, we've done this before." None of them smiled. Sighing, Bryce continued. "Unlike last time, I'll start with my own question. What do you know about what happened?"

"Everything." Blake said. "They know everything. I told them all of it."

"I wouldn't say we know everything, Blake." Weiss added. "I would say we know everything from Blake's side. What we don't know is your side."

"And it better be good." Yang said. "Because from what we've heard so far, it's not looking good for you."

"Heh." Bryce just shook his head. "Well I can tell you that you probably still won't like what you hear if you come in with that attitude."

"Just tell us."

"Fine." Bryce leaned forward and looked directly at each of the girls. "While we were out searching Vale, I was still trying to locate Blake nearer to the docks. As I was about to move on, I felt Blake's soul flare up, and was finally able to locate her. For a second, I didn't understand why. That is until it clicked that her soul would only flare if it were being used or hurt. Since you use aura's for protection, it made me realize that Blake was being hurt, therefore urgency was required."

"After I teleported to where Blake was, I saw the situation both she and the guy she was with were in, I acted. My training kicked in and I did what I was trained to do. Eliminate and save. So that's exactly what I did."

"Eliminate and save?" Blake scoffed. "Are you sure you don't mean butcher and check on?"

"What seems brutal to you is efficiency to me. I eliminated the threat to save lives. It's the same in war or in life or death situations."

"That seems… barbaric." Weiss added.

"Well, answer me this. If a Grimm were to attack Vale, you'd kill them, right?"

"Of course. It's the most logical thing to do." Weiss agreed. When Bryce looked to Yang and Blake to answer, he got a small, "Yeah" from Yang and a reluctant nod from Blake. Ruby just sat quietly, not responding at all.

"Well, why would you kill them?"

"Because they're monsters," Ruby finally spoke. "They hurt people and destroy their homes."

"Exactly. And telling them to stop wouldn't help. They would continue to cause problems. And taking them outside the city won't solve the issue. So killing them becomes the only real solution."

"What, so the White Fang are monsters now. We're supposed to treat them like we do the grimm?" Blake asked horrified. The other girls silently agreed with Blake's statement, and were worried to hear what Bryce's answer was.

"'The biggest threat to mankind is man itself.' 'The monster we need fear most is an immoral man.' Need I continue?" Bryce stood up from his bed and walk over to his scroll. He quickly typed something into it before clicking on a website. "The definition of terrorism is using violence and terror to achieve one's goals or plans. That is what both the grimm and the White Fang do. And if that be true, then they should be treated equally as threats."

"But… but they're people." Yang said. "That's completely different that a grimm. We don't have to kill them to stop them, we have more options than that."

"Maybe somewhere else when the people you're dealing with aren't going to kill first, and ask forgiveness later. That's how terrorist groups work."

"They're not a terrorist group, their just misguided." Blake said. "They need to learn-"

"See, that's where you're wrong, Blake. They ARE a terrorist group." Bryce said, his voice gaining a distinct piece of emotion. Anger. "They terrorize, attack, steal, and kill all for their own personal benefit. Weiss's childhood is proof of that. And it's not just against those who did them wrong, but those who are neutral or even their own kind who don't join the cause. I don't care what you think that is, but I know it by heart. I've dealt with it since I was two years old. That's terrorism. And I WILL NOT let is stand."

"That doesn't justify killing them! If we put them in prison, they have a chance to learn." Blake said again "They just want a better life."

"Well so does everyone else, but killing and terrorizing people isn't the way to do it. And when you become as big an organization as the White Fang, it no longer becomes crime, it becomes WAR. And the members become soldiers. And in war, you fight to survive. There is no leaving them alive to hope they change. You make sure your enemy doesn't have the opportunity to hurt you or anyone else again."

"No, you don't. You give them the chance to change. A lot of those people just want to be treated fairly and don't know how to get it, so they're turning to the only source they can see doing anything. There are other options besides killing that we can do. Knocking them out, putting them in prison, anything besides ending their lives. Most of them are good people."

"Oh, my bad," Bryce began to laugh sarcastically, "I must've missed those 'good people' amongst all the murderers and criminals who were planning on killing Sun and handing you as prisoner to their leaders."

Blake felt tears well up in her eyes. Standing up rather abruptly, she started to leave the room, before looking directly at Bryce. "I thought you were a good person. Someone who stood up for others rights."

"We all have rights. But we have to expect consequences to our actions. That was theirs. It's called agency, not free agency for a reason." Instead of responding, Blake left the room slamming the door shut. Yang also stood up her own anger oozing off of her.

"They may have made their choice, but we shouldn't have the right to take away their chance to change. Everyone needs a chance to change."

"Did your mother teach you that?" Bryce glared.

A loud slap echoed across the room as Yang hit Bryce across the cheek. Tears ran down her face.

"Don't you EVER talk about my mother." Yang snarled. "In fact, don't speak to me again. You may think the people you killed were monsters, but you're no better."

"Sometimes it's better to be the monster who saves people's lives than the hero that fails to save them."

"Always got a comment for everything." Yang grabbed Bryce by the lapels and looked him directly in the eyes. "But one day, you'll realize that more people praise the hero than the monster. At least one inspires everyone to do better." Yang began to leave, motioning for Ruby to follow her. Reluctantly, the red-headed reaper got up and followed. Yang sent one last glare as Ruby walked out the door before yelling one last comment as she herself walked out.

"Have fun playing the monster."

Weiss and Bryce both looked at each other, neither saying a word. There was a long minute of silence before Weiss got up. "I can safely say I understand your position. While I do not fully agree with it, I can see why you would apply its use to the situation that had been placed before you." Weiss took a deep breath before she continued. "That being said, I feel like I need to say this much. Blake is right about one thing. There's no reason to kill them. They need a chance to change. Should they continue to do it, then yes, maybe your approach is necessary. But until then, they need a chance."

"If only it were that easy, Weiss. The war back home would've ended a long time ago if it was. And I've tried it Blake's way before. It never ends well for the merciful party."

"Maybe it doesn't where you're from, but here, we're different. All I ask is you think about it. I will see if I can get Ruby or Yang to come back and talk to you. I think Blake won't be willing to even look at you for a little while."

"Yeah, I figured." Bryce sighed. He flopped down on his bed and waited. A few seconds later, he heard the door open, then close.

" _That could have gone better."_

"That's for sure. Though I honestly wasn't expecting it to go better anyway."

" _You were doing well up until you let your emotions get the best of you. When that happened, I believe what you said afterwards is what caused the most problems."_

"Thanks for hammering that in, Alpha. As if it weren't clear enough."

" _If it had been clear, you wouldn't have done it."_ Bryce had to concede that point. He knew it and he should've handled confrontation much better. " _On an interesting side note, Professor Ozpin has asked that you join him to talk. He's apparently walking around the courtyard."_

"Did he say anything about what we would be talking about?"

" _No, just that you should be willing to talk."_

"I feel like I'm about to experience some serious deja vu with this upcoming conversation."

" _It most likely is about the same subject. Though I have the feeling Ozpin will be more willing to listen than team RWBY was."_

"That's true." Getting up from his bed, Bryce headed out. "Let's go talk to Ozpin."

…

To Ozpin, the courtyard was one of the best places to walk. All around was beautiful architecture, a gorgeous wildlife, and memorials to the great Huntsmen and Huntresses of Remnant. But the one statue everyone remembered was the Statue of the first two Hunters, one Huntsman and one Huntress. It also held the most personal value to Ozpin, unbeknownst to many. Gazing upon both the figures depicted standing on the hoard of Grimm, Ozpin smiled.

"I miss you, old friends." Ozpin said. "It's hard not to have you both by my side anymore." Ozpin looked up towards the sun, and shook his head. "But that's how it goes in life. I do hope you both can forgive me. I haven't exactly stayed true to our promise, as much as I've tried."

Ozpin heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning, he watched Bryce approach. "Mr. Anderson, glad you could join me."

"Glad to Professor Ozpin." Bryce smiled before asking. "You said you had something you wanted to talk about?"

"I do, but I'd rather not stand around and talk. I find it's much more meaningful to walk and talk."

"Alright." Bryce shrugged before following Ozpin down a side path leading into a forested area near the courtyard.

"So, I hear you killed some White Fang members at the docks." Ozpin said as they began walking.

"I did."

"Was it intentional?"

"Yes, it was."

"I see. Interesting."

"Didn't you read the report Ms. Goodwitch wrote after she interviewed me. I'm sure you got it."

"Oh, I did receive it. I just haven't chosen to read it yet. You see, I find it much more beneficial to let people tell their side of the story rather than have someone else tell you what they heard. I have already talked with Ms. Belladonna, and it seems she chose not to learn anything from our conversation."

"Why do you say that?" Bryce looked at Ozpin, confusion in his voice.

"That's between me and Ms. Bellodana."

"Fair. So what do you want to know?"

"I want to know your side of it. I've already come to understand how you got there at the docks that day. What I'd like to know is why you killed them. As I'm sure you heard a lot today, there are many other options available to you, especially one of your skill and abilities."

"In all honesty?" Bryce looked up to the sky as he thought for a moment. "There are two reasons why. The first being they chose to be terrorists and take other people's lives away. That kind of action cannot stand. I think the idea was it is better to slay one unrighteous person than let an entire nation suffer. Other criminals, I may have honestly given a chance, but people in gangs and terrorist organizations don't care what they do to others, and are a severe threat to people's lives. As such, I, on standard, choose to protect the lives of future people they may attack and those in danger in the moment. A dead man can't change his mind and take a hostage."

"And the second reason?"

Bryce hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "You know, it's so easy to tell that story when I'm filled with emotion. But now?"

"And what story would that be?"

"I told Ms. Goodwitch this story. Though, I may have twisted some parts of it because of details I wasn't willing to share."

"Go right ahead, then. I'll be listening." Ozpin said as he pushed a stray tree branch out of his way with his cane, holding it long enough for Bryce to get by before he let it go.

"When I was younger, about five or six years old, a group of soldiers from another planet attacked the town we were living in, under the guise of being terrorists. Being a very war prepared people, they were met with everyone in the town fighting back against them. Including me and anyone else over the age of five."

"That that seems rather immoral."

"In any other situation, it might be. But when your life is constantly on the line, you need to learn to protect yourself and others as quickly and as early as you can. We all acted quickly when we heard the alarm signalling we were being attacked. Fifteen minutes later, the town was a warzone. Gun shots left and right, blood, bodies, crying. For a five year old, even though I'd been training for a long time, I wasn't fully prepared for what I saw that day."

"A rather difficult situation. What happened next?"

"What would happen in any situation like that. I fought. I fought to save everyone I was close to. I knocked a couple of them out, and then while I was tying them up for someone to come and take them to prison later, as I'd been trained to do, one of them snuck up behind me and tried to kill me. In a moment of panic, I stabbed him right through the heart. Looking at his horrified face, the blood on my sword and the thought that I'd just killed someone, it impacted me at the time. I didn't want to ever do it again. Or so I thought at the time. One of the soldiers saw me do it and in fear begged me not to kill him and let him go. He promised he'd change and he'd become a better person. My naive five-year old brain believed him. I let him go and told no one."

"Two years after the attack, once the dead were buried, we were attacked by the same group once again. And just like the time before, we were called to fight. It wasn't twenty minutes into the battle, I turned a corner and saw that same soldier from two years before with his blade buried into someone's chest. When I looked closer, I realized I recognized the person." Bryce took a deep, calming breath as his voice began to grow unsteady.

"Who did you see?" It took Bryce a little while to gain enough control over his emotions to answer the question.

"When I first told the story to Ms. Goodwitch, I said it was Bailey, one of my best friends. While she was there, she wasn't the one I saw at first. She had already been attacked and was severely injured. No, who I saw on the end of that bayonet was my younger sister, Aubrey."

"For the first time in my life I was overcome with two overwhelming emotions. Horror. And Anger."

"Both powerful emotions."

"Yeah. I know most people say don't let them overwhelm you but that's always been my issue. I let my emotions get to me too easily. In any case, I lost all sense of control and regard for life, and immediately killed him. As I held Aubrey in my arms, I remember pumping all of my creation energy into her so her body could start the regeneration process. I hadn't learned how to cause instant regeneration, so I floundered for anything that I thought might help. I remember thinking she was going to die."

"It was than I heard the worst words an older brother can hear. Aubrey grabbed me, blood and tears dripping down her face and said, 'Bryce? Am I gonna die?' When I couldn't answer her immediately she started crying. 'I don't wanna die. I don't wanna leave you.'"

Tears fell to the to the ground, mixing with the dirt on the trail. Birds chirped softly as a small breeze ran through the trees. Through it all, Ozpin listened quietly as Bryce stood still, the memory of that awful day taking over his thoughts.

"I… I remember just… just hugging her to my chest. I didn't want her to die. I thought about how it wasn't fair. And I knew I couldn't let this happen again."

Bryce wiped his eyes before he said. "Thankfully she didn't die. An experienced healer from the nearby hospital showed up and healed her to a stable enough condition to where she could be transported to the hospital for immediate anti-creati poisoning. But that day I learned a valuable lesson. When you deal with criminals, you can give them a second chance. But when you deal with murderers and soldiers, they don't get a second chance. They've already made their choice. I promised myself I'd follow a simple principle. Eliminate and save. If someone is threatening the lives of others, it is better to eliminate the problem so I can save not only everyone who was threatened, but anyone who might be threatened in the future. So that no one else has to feel that fear that I felt."

They walked in silence till they reached a grove of trees, revealing an old memorial, covered in vines. Ozpin brushed off the foliage as he looked at the plaque.

"A moving story indeed. I can see why you would have such resolves to end things the way you have." Ozpin looked from the plaque to Bryce before motioning him over. "Come here, I want to show something to you."

Bryce walked over to where Professor Ozpin stood, and looked at the plaque. On it were four names, and underneath it, a quote in a language Bryce didn't understand.

"Do you know what this plaque is here for?"

"No, I can't say I do."

"That's quite normal actually. It's a plaque of the for founders of the academies. See, I've found that the other plaques are often very inspiring to most people. But this one I felt to put here because it's not for everyone. But for those who do find it, it often changes their lives. I know it did for me when I was a young boy, attending one of the local academies."

"What does it say?"

"Well, in Old Remnant, this quote says, 'When others fail to understand, we fight to be understood. When we are understood, we must agree to understand. Then, and only then, is true understanding brought unto all involved, and peace is restored.'"

"A good sentiment, but why tell me this?"

"With the situation your in, you've fought to be understood and protect those you see as precious. You've fought so they would understand your side. Now, it's your turn to understand their side. And once you do that-"

"Than I can resolve the conflict between me and team RWBY." Bryce finished, as he began to comprehend what Ozpin was trying to teach him. "But I already know why they say what they do. I used to be in that same spot."

"Maybe you know your reasons for having been there. But their reasons will be much different than your own and often very enlightening into how we can truly make peace with those we don't agree with."

Bryce didn't say anything immediately. Instead, he stood there, deep in his own thoughts. After he'd stood thinking for a long while, he stuck out his hand and shook Ozpin's. "Thank you, Professor. I'll have to go and think about that."

"A wise choice. I hope you can come to a solution soon." Bryce nodded before walking down the path. Once he was out of earshot, Ozpin turned to one of the trees nearby. "You might as well come out Mr. Winchester. I know your there."

Slowly Cardin walked out from the forest, a small recording device in hand. Tears were running down his cheeks, hands shaking. "Hey, Oz. How'd you know I was there?"

"Your aura. The older you get the better you get at recognizing the auras of others around you. I'm sure Mr. Anderson could also tell you were there."

"Then why didn't he say anything? I'm pretty sure he hates me. I'm a failure. I promised my older brother the day he died I'd be a great huntsman. Yet I can't even recognize the great ones in front of me already." Cardin laughed, his self-worth crumbling. "I bet they all hate me. I know I do right now."

"Actually, I don't think he hates you. Just your actions towards your fellow classmates. We've talked about that before during detentions."

"Yeah. I know. So why'd he let me listen? He knows I'm looking for a way to get back at him for the incident in the cafeteria."

"I think he let you listen in as it show you why he acts the way he does. And he wants to show you a piece of himself that isn't perfect that you can learn from. He comes from a warzone. You come from a place of peace. He comes from fighting constantly to survive. You come from a life of luxury and safety. He wants you to understand why he acts so harshly towards you. He's letting you understand, after you've fought to be understood. Now is the time for you too to come to a choice of your own and decide if you can come to true understanding and create peace. You just need to choose if you'll let his words push you for better, or drive you to make things worse."

Ozpin slowly walked past Cardin, patting his shoulder as he walked by. "I do hope you make the right choice, Mr. Winchester. You have a great future ahead of you. If you make the right choices and become better."

Ozpin left, walking back to his office. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice.

" **It's rather nice to see the student become the teacher."**

"You taught me well, old man." Ozpin laughed. "I only wish you'd warned me before I made the mistake I did."

" **It's the curse of all Wizards, Maxwell. We never can warn our protege in time. Yours just happens to be the worst one so far."**

"I sincerely hope it stays that way. Though, with my curse, I may never have a protege."

" **I believe the opportunity will come sooner than you think. You aren't doomed to this for eternity, Maxwell. The day will come when you can finally have peace."**

"I think you mean you'll have peace. At that time, I'll be in your position."

" **Aha ha ha ha."** The voice laughed heartily, before saying. " **That's very true. Very true."** The voice was quiet for a moment. " **Do you think they listened?"**

"Those two? Yes. One is always looking to improve himself, while the other is finally humble enough to learn how to be better. I think they both listened and I have confidence that with time, they'll act on it."

" **I do hope so. They'll be great allies to have on our side in the battles to come."**

"While that may be true, I sincerely hope that one of them never gets involved in our war. He has seen enough wars to last him a lifetime and I'd rather not add to that list."

…

 **H1, Home Dimension**

"Are you sure about this, Natalie?" Her mother asked her. "You know it could be years till you could even have the ability to come back home."

"I know, Mom." Natalie said as she strapped her rifle to her back. "I just… I… I can't leave him there. I don't know what happened but I can't shake the feeling he's not dead. Something keeps saying he's alive."

"Alright hon. Just make sure you send us that message if you find him. You'll only get one. And do everything the Anderson's tell you to do."

"I know, Mom." Natalie kissed her mother's cheek, before throwing her military pack over her shoulders, and leaving her home. "I love you."

"I love you, too!"

Natalie closed the front door to her home, before charging down the street to the Anderson's private lab. She didn't feel like teleporting. The instant jump wouldn't relieve her worries as well as running could. It only took her five minutes to travel the three miles to the Anderson lab. When she walked in, Zach Anderson was working on a large podlike machine while Eliza Anderson was typing a long series of code into a computer attached to the machine.

"Mrs. Anderson? Mr. Anderson?" Natalie called out, hoping to get their attention. "I'm here."

Both scientists looked up from their respective work before quickly getting up to hug the young girl. "Natalie." Eliza smiled at her, "How are you doing?"

"Honestly?" Natalie looked down a bit. "It still hurts. That's partly why I'm here."

"I know, sweetie." Elisa hugged her again. "Believe me, I know. If I had anyway to get away with doing this so one of us would be going, I'd do it. But the government has us on Jump Watch. Not allowed to leave the dimension." Eliza lifted up a metal bracelet attached to her hand, and pointed to a similar one on Zach.

"Even for materials?" Natalie asked.

"Nope. Nothing." Zach shook his head in frustration. "That's why we were so grateful you were willing to try this. I know it's a lot to ask, but if he's still…" Zach stopped to wipe his eyes briefly before continuing. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. Did you bring everything we told you to."

"Yes I did. I have some food in the pack, extra medical supplies, and a small sleeping bag. Everything else I can make."

"Do you have Riley and Andromeda?" Eliza asked. Natalie lifted up the rifle. It was a sleek design, with glowing blue lines running down the sides of it. The gun itself was a sleek black color, and had multiple mods attached to it.

"Riley's loaded and ready to go the moment I hit open ground. And Andromeda," Natalie patted her shoulder blades, "is always with me. Right, Andromeda?"

"You got that right." a female voice replied from Natalie's back. "I don't know where else I'd go even if I could leave. I'm not exactly like Alpha."

"Hey, we talked about this already, Andromeda. You can't keep comparing yourself to Alpha just cause he can move on his own."

"I can't help it, Natalie. It's just not fair he gets his own projection software and I don't. What made him so special?"

"Andromeda, he's a prototype. He's supposed to be experimented on."

"Girls, focus please." Eliza smiled, before handing Natalie a small box. "Here. This is the device we talked about over the phone."

"How many messages will I be able to send?"

"Two at most. Guaranteed you'll have one message. Use it wisely." Eliza warned.

"As much as I'd love to let this conversation finish, we have to hurry. We only have a limited amount of time before someone up at HQ will get wise to what's going on." Zach said as he walked back over the machine and grabbed a hanging wire and the machine roared to life.

"Okay, it's on. We only have a five minute window." Zach said as he began to rapidly type numbers into the machine. "The sample I found won't last very long, so you need to hurry on through."

"What sample?" Natalie looked to both parents for an answer. Eliza hesitated before Zach nodded, giving her the okay.

"Do you remember when we lost him the first time?" Eliza asked. Natalie shivered at the memory.

"Yes, I do. I can't forget the pain I felt through Cardia connection."

"Well… when we finally got him back… he didn't come back as good as we made him out to be."

"What do you mean?" Natalie felt her heart rate increase. "What's wrong with him?"

"A part of him wasn't him anymore." Zach said simply. "He doesn't even know that a small piece of his soul has been destroyed, and replaced with… something else."

"That something else is what allowed him to enter into the runaway dimension in the first place." Eliza explained.

"What is it? Is it hurting him?"

"That's the thing," Eliza said. "We don't know. In the two years he's been home, it's never acted up. However, if we're right… it might be the reason our connection with him broke. And that could mean it's mixing with or even taking over his soul."

Without a word said, Natalie entered the machine, before closing the glass door to the pod. "I need to go. Send me there now."

"We've got to wait for the dimension to come in range." Zach said. "Honey, I need you to start the energy flow. Mix it with the sample."

"Got it." Eliza rushed to the computer she'd been working on earlier and started typing. After a few seconds, Natalie felt two things. First, all around her things got colder. The air grew bitter, and even in her military uniform, she could feel the cold getting to her. The second thing was a weight that pressed down all around her. She felt like she weighed a ton. Instinctively, she released her creation energy to counteract the weight.

"Don't resist it, Natalie." Zach called out. "That heaviness is Omni energy. It's always heavy for anyone who doesn't naturally generate it. It needs to surround you so you can go in."

Reluctantly, Natalie stopped the flow of energy. The weight returned, and Natalie fell to her knees under the pressure. Tears welled up in her eyes as pain began to rack her body. "Please tell me it's close."

"It will be." Zach promised, monitoring the dimensions. "In five. Four. Three. Two. One. Now!"

The instant he yelled now, Eliza hit some buttons on a nearby console. The moment the last button was hit, Natalie felt the weight crash in on her even more, before it suddenly disappeared, to the point of weightlessness. Darkness crowded her vision. She felt a brief piercing sensation in her head, then nothing. She worried for a moment the machine had failed.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and Natalie was falling. Blinking away the blindness, Natalie could see the pod was falling from the sky over a forest. In a split moment before it crashed down into the ground, Natalie spotted a safe spot on the ground and teleported. Not ready for the sudden series of changes that happened all in a moment's notice, Natalie fell to the ground before leaning against a tree. Taking in deep breaths, Natalie looked around at the area. She could see the smoke coming from where the pod had crashed.

"You think there's anything important in there, Andromeda?"

"If there is, I doubt it survived the crash. Not with how poorly built the structure was."

"Hey, be nice. The Anderson's didn't exactly have a whole lot of time."

"I know that. I'm just saying it's definitely not the safest thing they've built."

Natalie started to respond, only to catch the sound of something moving around her. She sent out a small burst of energy in the hopes that she could figure out what was around her. What she discovered didn't settle her nerves.

"Andromeda, tell me I'm wrong about what I just sensed. Because if it's what I think it is-"

"It's not the Nekropsychi." Andromeda assured her. "Whatever it is is soulless, but as far as I can tell nowhere near as dangerous or worrisome as the Nekropsychi. In other words, this should be a wonderful moment to vent frustration on whatever poor creatures thought it would be a good idea to get in the way right now."

"Oh good." Natalie smiled, as she took of her backpack off, "We haven't practiced in a long time now, have we?"

"Not since he disappeared." Andromeda said.

"Well, since we're on a mission to find him, now a good a time as any to get back in the groove." Natalie smiled. She looked to the large pack of beowolves prowling around her. Rolling her shoulders, she smiled viciously. "Let's start practicing than."

Two of the more courageous beowolves in the pack decided to try and attack Natalie from behind. They hadn't gotten more than five feet before there was a flash of metal and they fell to the ground.

"Well, that was a poor decision, now wasn't it?" Natalie smiled at the disintegrating corpses of the beowolves, her bladed wings shining menacingly in the noonday sun. She stretched her arms, the wings moving slightly with her shoulders as she stretched.

"Oh, it feels good to be out in the sun again. I haven't felt this in a long while. Ooh, I know. How about to celebrate we show these puppies why it's not a good idea to mess with a Prostátis?" Andromeda said. "What do ya say, partner?"

"I couldn't agree more, Andromeda." Natalie smiled. "That sounds like a great idea."


	13. Paradigm Shift

**WEEEEEEEEELLLL HELLLOOOOOOOOOOO!  
How is this wonderful place we call fanfiction? Good? Awesome. Some of you may notice I'm back earlier than I had said I would be, since I said I'd have to take a two year leave. Well it's been ten months, and here I am. What happened? Surgery... surgery happened. Cut my service time a little short. I'll be back out there eventually, probably in two or three months, but until then, I will be writing chapters as quickly and as best I can. Hopefully you all enjoy them and they can satisfy your little hearts. As you'll notice, I replaced chapter Eleven with a different chapter. That's because I hated that last chapter. Too cheesy. Too easy. So, I fixed. The issues between Team RWBY and Bryce are not yet resolved, and neither is quite willing to back down just yet. Or so it seems. Anyways, before we jump into chapter, shout outs to the new peeps who've joined the crew!**

 **Hammersamatom, rosariorwbyfan, and Omega97 (thanks for the PM so quickly by the way. I really appreciate feedback)**

 **To all those who are reading, please leave a review, and favorite and follow if you like the story. Tell me what you think, what you'd like to see be fixed if, or maybe a request to pay me to do this ! :D. Yeah, don't feel inclined to do that last one, I'd feel bad. So without further ado, ONTO THE CHAPTER!**

Chapter Twelve: Paradigm Shift

The arenas were a popular place for students to practice. They were free from the interruption of others, designed to allow all sorts of scenarios and set ups, and a great place to fight and train without running the risk of damaging something important. And, if you really knew what you were doing, you could keep out anyone you didn't want coming in to watch. Bryce knew what he was doing, to say the least. Which lead him to being able to arrange a private practice in the arena for Jaune so both he and Pyrrha could help him grow.

"C'mon, Jaune, don't stop." Bryce said as watched Pyrrha parry Jaune's strikes. "Let the energy run through your body. Don't limit it to your arm."

"I'm, *grunt*, trying!" Jaune yelled as he blocked Pyrrha's attacks. "It's not *grunt* easy."

"It's just like using your aura. You should be good at this."

"Didn't we talk about this before?" Jaune yelled back.

"Focus, Jaune," Pyrrha said as she spun, before kicking Jaune's shield from his hands. Before he could recover, Pyrrha finished the spin by whacking his sword out of his hands with her spear. With the tip of her weapon at his throat, Jaune raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, that's enough. We'll stop there for a second." Bryce said as he walked down from the stands. "Jaune, come here."

Jaune slowly put his hands down, and slowly walked over to where Bryce stood at the edge of the arena. "I'm trying to get this, but I just can't. I'm sorry. You're just wasting your time trying to teach me." Jaune looked down at his hands "I'm a waste of a huntsman."

"You're right Jaune, you're not a huntsman." Jaune felt his heart plummet and Pyrrha stepped forward, ready to defend Jaune before Bryce continued. "You're a huntsman in training. If you were as good as I was or as Pyrrha was, we'd be a little bit jealous. We had to work for our skill, and so do you. We don't get good overnight. It takes time and serious dedication. And I know you have both. Plus," Bryce smiled as he put a hand on Jaune's shoulder, "You are growing way faster than some others might. You already have the basic practices down to a science. Now you just need to mix it with the power you've been given before you can really take off."

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely," Bryce smiled, "Ask Pyrrha if you don't believe me." Jaune looked to Pyrrha. Rather than answer immediately, she walked over to him and hugged him.

"Jaune, you're an amazing leader. Your intelligent, your devoted, and you're really trying to better yourself. The fact that you don't want to be a hindrance to your team speaks volumes of you as a person." Stepping back, Pyrrha put a hand on her hip, "However, if you keep thinking your not getting better or are slowing us down, I may have to hurt you."

"Heh, I, uh, won't do that anymore. Promise. Scouts honor." Satisfied, Pyrrha smiled and went to retrieve Crocea Mors with her semblance, only to have Bryce stop her.

"Let's wait on more combat training." He said. "Jaune, I want you to start your Aura Eyes." Nodding, Jaune closed his eyes and began to focus.

"Aura Eyes," Pyrrha asked. "I don't remember that."

"It's something I've asked Jaune to develop privately. It allows him to see aura and other energies and follow the flow of it," Bryce explained as a small wave of power pulsed around Jaune. As he opened his eyes, they were glowing, with traces of gold flowing around his eyes.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Good. Now, I want you to look at my soul and follow the flow of energy to the source. Can you do that?"

"I think so." Jaune said. "It may take me a bit." Focusing in on Bryce's soul, Jaune looked around the blue and black soul and tried to find where Bryce's power flowed from. It took five minutes of silent searching before he found it.

"Okay, I got it. What now?"

"I want you to follow the energy. See what it does." Bryce said. Once Jaune nodded, Bryce sent the energy flowing throughout his entire body. Jaune watched as the energy flowed to his heart before it broke into several pieces and flowed into each of Bryce's body parts. As the energy continued to flow into Bryce's heart, it repeatedly broke into pieces before heading to the rest of the body.

"Woah." Jaune watched in silent awe at the level of control Bryce had over his power. He felt so weak compared to him. As Bryce stopped the flow of energy, he took a deep breath.

"Jaune, what are you thinking right now?" Jaune realized he'd been thinking of himself negatively and that was bad. Seeing him tense up and his eyes fade, Pyrrha pulled Jaune's shield over before hitting him on the head with it.

"Ow! Pyrrha, why? That hurt."

"I should hope so. I just told you not to think badly about yourself. Bryce has had years of practice with his power. You shouldn't compare yourself to him, compare yourself to how you were before." Pyrrha huffed in frustration. Jaune could see the wisdom in the idea. He also had a small piece of him notice how cute Pyrrha was when she was frustrated.

"Okay. I get it. I won't do it anymore. Probably." Pyrrha lifted the shield again. "Definitely won't do it again, I swear!" Pyrrha lowered the shield, smiling as she did so. Jaune turned back to Bryce.

"So why'd you have me see that? Not that it wasn't cool, but what's the point?"

"What did I do with my energy?"

"You sent it to your heart."

"Okay, what happened after that?"

"It broke apart and spread through the rest of your body."

"Exactly. Why would I do that?"

"I…" Jaune paused as he tried to think of an answer. "I honestly don't know."

"To properly imbue yourself with power and strength, the energy needs to be equally spread all throughout your body. And that's what you're struggling with right now. Spreading it throughout your entire body. You generally only send it to one or two limbs, as if it were a track all your energy has to follow. It doesn't need to work like that, in fact it won't successfully work like that. You have to spread it out."

"So what does my heart have to do with this?"

"Well, what does your heart do?"

Jaune thought for a second before answering. "It pumps blood throughout… the… body. I see, now."

"Good. It's easiest to manipulate your energy if you use your body to help you out. On top of that, the image of sending it to your heart and it distributing it all equally is a good way to start practicing instinctively using creation energy to enhance yourself. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Alright, let's work on that for now. Middle of the arena." Jaune nodded, before he went and stood out in the middle of the arena. As Jaune stood, focusing, Pyrrha walked closer to talk to Bryce.

"So… team RWBY talked to us about your conversation with them." Pyrrha said. Bryce let out a sigh, before looking down at the ground. He leaned against the railing leading into the arena before he spoke.

"What'd they tell you?"

"Weiss informed me of how the entire conversation went after Blake and Yang ranted rather passionately."

"Huh… well, you wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't have something to add. So let's hear it."

"Actually," Pyrrha smiled, "I don't have much to add. I only mention it because I want you to know team JNPR still stands by your side. Jaune pulled us all aside and made sure we wouldn't distance ourselves from you." Pyrrha smiled as she looked at Jaune. "He really does think the best of you. You've helped him so much, and I want to thank you for that."

"No need to thank me. I was just doing what others did for me." Bryce smiled, looking from Pyrrha to Jaune. "I'm the one that should be thanking you for telling me that. I needed that."

"Well, I also wanted to thank you for your help with Jaune during Cardin's bullying. As well as whatever you said to him recently. He came up to Jaune and apologized for not being a good huntsman and for fighting the wrong people. It honestly was very relieving to see."

"Aha!" Jaune suddenly cried out in joy. Looking over, Bryce and Pyrrha watched as a white mist swirled around Jaune as he dashed across the arena faster than he ever could've before.

"I got it!" Jaune yelled as he jumped up in the air, flying up thirty feet before tumbling to the ground.

"Good job, Jaune. Now." Bryce grinned as he pulled out Alpha. "Think you can maintain that?"

"Wait, what? Are you serious?" Jaune said, horror gripping his heart for a brief moment.

"One hundred percent. Now," Bryce grinned as his own energy flowed through his body, "Start running."

…

"Yang, please tell me you and Blake are joking." Weiss said as she stared at her two teammates in shock.

"No, Weiss, we're serious." Yang said, putting her hands on her hips.

"And how exactly did you come to this decision? Because, forgive me, but this is insane!"

"I don't see a problem with it."

"Ruby!"

"What? It'd be a good chance to help Blake. And take our minds off the… other thing that Blake and Yang are still mad about." Ruby looked to Yang and Blake briefly judging their levels of anger.

"Bryce. The 'other thing's' name is Bryce." Weiss said, before rubbing her forehead with one hand. "I still don't see how finding out what the White Fang are doing is a good idea."

"Weiss," Blake said, "You don't know the White Fang like I do. This can't be the only reason they're in the city. And there's no way they would normally be working for Roman Torchwick. Something is wrong and we need to find out what."

"I hate to break this to you Blake, but your track record for fighting the White Fang is not helping your case." Weiss crossed her arms.

"I don't care. The police aren't doing anything about it, and this isn't something we can just let continue. We're supposed to be huntresses. We can do this the right way. How can we sit around and not do anything?"

"Oh, I can think of multiple reasons why we shouldn't." Weiss argued. Seeing that none of her team was going to move on this issue, Weiss sighed in frustration.

"Fine. I can go to the CCT and check if my father has any files that could help us."

"Yeah! Team RWBY's first mission!" Ruby jumped up and down in excitement. "We gotta plan this out. Let me grab my…" Ruby turned to her desk only to see that the notebook she had planned on grabbing was no longer there. "I forgot it in the library."

"We're doomed." Weiss groaned.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Ruby charged out the door. Yang and Weiss silently watched her go. Blake looked at the ground.

"How's she holding up?" Blake asked Weiss. "She hasn't really talked with us much after the argument."

"Not well, honestly." Weiss said. "She's not sure what to think or do about the situation with Bryce."

"Avoid him. That's what she should do." Yang huffed. "He's a jerk."

"That's exactly the problem. She doesn't want to stay away from him. She wants to help him. But she also doesn't know how to help him. She doesn't even have her own stance on the situation. She's conflicted." Weiss sighed. "I wish I could help her, but I'm not sure what to say. She sees Bryce as a hero, yet this… this goes against her ideals."

"She needs to make a decision." Both Weiss and Yang nodded.

"Agreed. I just hope it's soon."

…

Ruby was frantically running through the library. She could've sworn she left her notebook by they gametables, but it wasn't there. Maybe by the documentaries? Hopefully not, she always fell asleep just reading the long titles.

As she was wildly searching, she stopped suddenly when a familiar flash of red and black appeared in the corner of her eye. Looking over, she saw Cardin sitting at one of the more secluded tables near the back of the library. On the table was her notebook.

"Hey, that's my notebook!" Ruby yelled, before realizing what a terrible idea it was to let him know she was there. Cardin looked over to her and smiled. However, it wasn't like how he normally smiled, vicious and cruel. No, it was sad and… something else Ruby couldn't exactly place.

"Oh, sup Red. Figured you'd come looking for this and I, uh, didn't know how to get you away from the rest of your team." When Ruby leaned back, ready to fight, Cardin quickly raised his hands in surrender. "To talk, to talk. I swear it was just to talk." Ruby lowered her stance but didn't relax.

"About what exactly? I'm still not very happy with you because of how you treated Jaune and Velvet."

"I know," Cardin said. "And I've told them I'm sorry and I'm working on make resti- restu-"

"Restitution."

"Thanks. I have trouble saying larger words ever since… never mind, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I heard about the fight you guys had with Bryce."

"How'd you hear about that?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"Well," Cardin said, as he reaches into his pocket. "I, uh, honestly was going to try and get back at him. So I followed him with an audio recorder, hoping to find something he'd say against him. Instead, I… heard something I shouldn't have. And I think it'd be good if your team heard it as well. I think it'll change your pers- perspec-."

"Perspective?"

"Yeah, that word." Cardin handed Ruby the audio recorder. "Audio file four. I think it'd be worth your time." Cardin got up and started walking out.

"Is that it?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Cardin said. "I've got to go play pack-mule for team CFVY. Part of my making resti-... making up for what I did wrong."

"Oh... kay? See ya then, Cardin." Ruby shook her head. "That was a weird." Ruby grabbed her notebook and started to walk out. Only to stop and look at the audio recorder in her hand. She looked around briefly, checking to see if she was alone. Than, she turned on the device, and found audio file four.

"I hope you're right Cardin. 'Cause if this isn't worth it, a million cookies couldn't save you," she muttered as she pressed the play button.

…

"She's taking her sweet time to find that notebook," Yang said as she hung upside down from her bed.

"You would think with a speed semblance this wouldn't take as long as it is." Weiss groaned from where she was leaning against her desk, looking at her nails.

"Maybe she can't find it?" Blake suggested as she flipped the page in her book.

"I doubt that that is the issue." Weiss snorted.

"I bet she found a weapons magazine and couldn't help but look through it." Yang added as she blew a hair out of her eye, "she did that all the time at home."

"Did she always take this long?" Weiss asked.

"Sometimes."

It was then the door swung open as Ruby charged into the room, raising the notebook high into the air. "Mission Accomplished!"

"Where were you?" Ruby shrunk at the glaring eyes of Weiss.

"Oh, heh, I, uh may have ran into a.. few people." Ruby scratched the back of her head.

"A few people?" Yang said as she sat up. "How many people is a few people?"

"Oh, you know. Three… or four..."

"That's not that ba-"

"...teen." Yang's eyes bulged when she realized what the number of people Ruby had ran into actually was.

"What!?"

"I told them I was sorry? It was just one after another. First it was those kids from Haven, than it was team SLVR, than it was the weird guy from Grimmology class, and-"

"Ruby!"

"Ah!" Ruby jumped at the sudden voice from beside her. Turning, Ruby looked at the glaring figure of Weiss. "Yes Weiss?"

"You need to be more careful. As the leader and representative of this team, your conduct should always be appropriate and represent the actions and feelings of your team. Therefore, you must-"

"Okay, I get it," Ruby said, covering her ears. "I'll be more careful. Promise."

"On your cookies?" Ruby froze in horror, staring aghast at Weiss.

"Weiss, don't make me say it, please. I can't. You know I can't."

"Say it, Ruby Rose."

Ruby whimpered, grabbing her hood and pulling it over her head before she finally said, "I promise on… on my c-c-cookies I'll be more careful."

"Good." Weiss said. "Now that we have the notebook we can plan this crazy mission."

"Yeah!" Ruby shouted, her mood lifting in an instant. "Let's get started then."

…

Jaune didn't want to move. His body was in too much pain and too tired to do so. For the past few hours, Bryce and Pyrrha had worked Jaune to the bone, pushing his newly learned ability to its limits. Jaune was not only out of creation energy, but his massive aura for once was rather low. As such, he didn't have the energy to move from where he lay in the middle of the arena.

"I hate you both," Jaune said in between breaths as he tiredly glared at the grinning figure of Bryce and the peaceful image of Pyrrha on the side of the stadium.

"Hey, training isn't easy." Bryce said as he sat on the railing to the edge of the arena. Pyrrha didn't say a word, and instead giggled at the tired Jaune.

"There's a difference between difficult and monstrously impossible, and your teetering on that line."

"Really? I guess we're not pushing you hard enough if you only think we're teetering that line." Bryce shook his head. "What do you think?"

"I think if he has enough energy to make comments about training, he has enough energy to train." Pyrrha smiled wryly.

"Shutting up."

"Wise choice, Jaune." Bryce felt a buzz in his pocket. Pulling out his scroll, he saw it was a text from Ruby. Raising an eyebrow, Bryce opened up his scroll and read it before groaning in frustration.

"Did she not learn the first time?" Bryce muttered underneath his breath. Noticing the rapid change in mood, Pyrrha drew closer, and Jaune got to his feet and stumbled over to where Bryce sat.

"What's *pant* what's up?" Jaune asked. Bryce just let out a long, irritated sigh.

"Ruby just texted me. Apparently Blake convinced her team to go and figure out what the White Fang is doing. Seems like she's on a warpath to prove they can be dealt with peaceably without killing them and dealing with them herself."

"Why would she do something so dangerous just to prove a point?" Pyrrha asked. "That seems a bit extreme."

"They're under the impression they're obligated to be huntresses right now. They seem to be forgetting the "in-training" part, kind of like you did earlier today." Jaune nodded, understanding what Bryce was saying.

"So why would Ruby text you about it?" Pyrrha asked. "She normally wouldn't tell what her team is doing like this."

"It seems for once, Ruby is being the sensible one and is calling for backup. She's asking me to follow behind quietly and just make sure everyone stays safe."

"That's a good idea." Pyrrha agreed. "But couldn't we stop them before they get into trouble."

" _It is too late for that, I'm afraid,"_ Alpha said. " _This text we received was from the bathroom of a bullhead carrier currently headed for downtown Vale from the academy."_

"So… what, you're just gonna search the city till you find them? Didn't you try doing this before, and it take forever?"

"Why yes, it did, Jaune. However, this time we have an advantage we didn't last time." Bryce lifted up his scroll. "They all have their scrolls on them. Which means they can all can be located as long as they have service. And Downton Vale has one-hundred percent service, last I checked." Bryce hopped down and started to head towards the door. Before he exited, he turned to the two teenagers. "You wanna come help?"

…

Ruby and Weiss both stayed silent as they walked to the CCT tower. Since Sun had gone with Blake, and Yang decided to go to her contact alone, Ruby and Weiss went together. Neither knew what to say to the other, yet both of them had something they wanted to say.

Ruby looked around aimlessly as she tried to think of a way to tell Weiss what she'd learned. Weiss was probably the only one who'd listen to what was going through her head. Probably the only one she could talk to about her decision.

"So…" Weiss looked at Ruby with determined expression, "I feel like the awkward air needs to be addressed."

"What awkward air?" Ruby tried to play innocent. Weiss wasn't having it.

"Ruby, you know exactly what I mean."

"I have the right to remain silent."

"Ruby."

Ruby sighed. "It's nothing Weiss, really. Just, uh, didn't know what to talk about. Yeah, that."

"Ruby, you're a terrible liar." Weiss said, withal deadpan expression. "What's wrong. Normally you'd be ranting about the different weapons that just came out, or classes, or anything of that sort. Yet now you're as quiet as Blake, maybe even Ren."

"Woah, Weiss. No need to get dramatic."

"Fair. But even still, you've been unusually quiet. What's wrong, Ruby? As your partner, I need to know."

Ruby didn't say anything at first. It took a long moment for her to say anything. "So… I may have texted someone about our mission tonight for help."

Weiss's eyes widened in shock. "You what!"

"It wasn't a teacher, I promise." Weiss didn't answer, instead choosing to stare at Ruby, now frozen stiff.

"Weiss? Your scaring me."

"Let me… make sure I understand this correctly. You," Weiss pointed at Ruby, "realizing what we were doing was dangerous, were responsible and called for backup."

"Well… yes?"

Weiss facepalmed. "Why on Remnant did I not think of that?"

"Uh…"

"Who did you text?"

Ruby looked away and muttered a name.

"I couldn't hear that Ruby, and you know that."

Ruby looked at Weiss and started. "Jaune..."

"That's a good idea. Having team JNPR to back us up will be a-"

"And Bryce." Weiss looked at Ruby like she'd just gone crazy.

"You what?!"

"It's not a bad idea. He's got more experience than all of us combined and with his awesome weapons, there's no way we can't beat the White Fang."

"Darn tootin'." Nora agreed. Weiss responded to Ruby, barely even registering that Nora was there.

"Do you not remember why Blake wanted to do this in the first place? It's because of him she's so dead set on dealing with the White Fang in the first place."

"It's fine. It's better she learn this way that she can't do it alone with back up than doing it alone." Nora waved a hand as if were no big deal. It was about that time that Ruby and Weiss' minds caught up with reality and they nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Nora?!"

"In the flesh!" She grinned, flashing a peace sign with one hand and her hammer in the other.

"How and when did you get here?" Weiss said as she held a hand to her chest trying to calm her terrified heart.

"One minute and three seconds ago to the when. And how is simple. Bryce sent me here." Nora slammed the top of her hammer into the ground before leaning on it.

"Seriously?" Ruby asked, wide eyed. "That's so cool."

"Well, where's the rest of your team?" Weiss asked.

"Well, Pyrrha and Jaune are near Yang and Bryce and Renny are tailing Blake and that Monkey guy."

"Wow… Bryce got that organized rather quickly."

"If he could do this before, why didn't he do this when we were looking for Blake?" Weiss huffed in annoyance.

"He said something about using your scrolls to find you. I didn't pay attention, really." Nora shrugged, before kicking up her hammer so it rested on her shoulder. "So where are we going?"

"To the CCT tower. I need to get some information from my father." Weiss said.

"Cool! So why did you come with her Ruby?" Nora asked.

"Well, uh," Ruby hesitated to answer.

"She just wanted to see the tower." Weiss said.

"Hey! I'm not that childish."

"Really? Than why did you come with me." Weiss challenged. Ruby opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't think of another reason. Slowly she just glared at the ground and pouted. "I thought so."

"Alright, than to the CCT!" Nora shouted as she pointed Manglhid towards the tall building right in front of them. "Oh, hey. We're here!"

"What? How?" Weiss looked back from where she was sure they'd been to the CCT tower now in front of her and back. She knew it should've taken longer to get to the CCT tower. So how did they get here so quickly. As her mind whirled, trying to figure out how, she felt someone slip a note into her pocket. Turning to see who it was, Weiss couldn't see anyone close to her besides a very oblivious Nora and a dazed Ruby. Weiss reached into her pocket and pulled out the note before she began to read it.

 _You all really need to learn to move quickly. You have a mission to complete. Get to it. You're welcome for the jump by the way._

 _Bryce_

If anyone had seen the agitated look Weiss gave the paper before crumpling it up and smashing it underneath her foot, they would've thought a demon had been let loose in her soul. Ruby didn't say a word as Weiss huffed before charging into the CCT, instead following quietly behind her with a humming Nora. She was still debating in her mind whether she should talk to Weiss about the audio file… and her decision.

"Oh," Nora stopped, before reaching into her pocket. "I almost forgot. Bryce said you might need this." Nora handed Ruby a red magazine, with an image of a black bullet that was hollow on the side. Ruby felt fear grip her heart for a moment as she looked at the ammo loaded into a magazine, before taking a deep breath and nodded, sliding the clip into her belt where she normally kept her ammo.

"Thanks, Nora."

"Nooooo problem."

"So… Weiss already went in…"

"Sure did."

"We don't need to go in there."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I mean, there's one right next to the weapons shop."

"Sign me up, let's go!"

…

"So, Yang's in here, huh?" Jaune sighed and he looked at the sign above The Club.

"It would seem so. I wonder who Yang would know that is here." Pyrrha said.

"Only one way to find out." Jaune replied, walking towards the door with purpose. As they entered into the building, they could see the hallway that actually led down to the club, which was blocked by two nervous looking guards. One of them perked up as they saw Jaune and Pyrrha approaching. Especially when he recognized who Pyrrha was.

"Hey," he said, stopping the two of them before they could enter into the club, "I'm sorry but you can't go in there."

"Why not?" Pyrrha asked innocently. Jaune could see where this was going rather quickly. And he wasn't happy about it.

"We're just here to see some friends and get a drink, dude."

"Sorry, but that's not gonna cut it," the second one joined in, catching on to what his friend was doing. "You can't go in without a pass."

"Oh, really?" Pyrrha tried to smile kindly, but she could recognize the guards intention rather easily. "And how would I get that?"

"Well, it'd take some really good hook ups or being really high up in the… less than legal world, if you know what I mean. Or," The first guy leaned towards her, "We can let you and your friend in under the table if you hang out with me and my friend her for a couple hours. Nothing crazy." He grinned as he looked at her over his sunglasses. "What do you say?"

"I can't believe I'm already breaking my promise so quickly," Jaune muttered underneath his breath.

"What was that, pretty boy?" The second sneered.

"I said back off, gentlemen." Jaune said loudly, rolling back his sleeves to reveal a tattoo on his bicep. "This is Arc official business." On his arm, just above a tattoo of a moon, was a scar left by a branding iron. On it, was a crown, next to the crescent symbols of the Arc Crest. Both men froze before immediately stepping back in terror.

"We're sorry Sir," They both replied. "We didn't mean-"

"I don't care what you meant. As long as you don't speak a word of who I am, I may let you live a day longer. Got It?" Jaune's words were venomous, a tone Pyrrha wasn't used to hearing from Jaune. She didn't like it. Yet part of her enjoyed seeing Jaune take a stand not only for himself, but for her.

"Yes Sir. We're sorry Sir."

"Good. Now let us in, and this won't reach the ears of the Tribunal." Both of them nodded, and Pyrrha and Jaune towards the doors to The Club unbothered. Pyrrha turned to Jaune before they walked in.

"What was that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Something I'd hoped I'd never have to use ever again." Jaune sighed, before giving a normal awkward Jaune smile. "I'll, uh, tell ya about it later. Promise. For now let's just say not all Arcs are Huntsmen." Pyrrha nodded.

"Okay. I expect a full explanation on that 'later' talk."

"I didn't expect otherwise." Opening the doors to The Club, the two walked in to the lively scene. People were dancing, drinks were being passed around, conversations left and right. Jaune looked at the excess amounts of alcohol and frowned.

"This just makes me sick."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"You should never be willing to give up your agency to a drink." Jaune said, before pulling Pyrrha's arm. "C'mon, let's find Yang."

…

Bryce and Ren sat quietly and observed from their positions in the rafters of the White Fang rally. They'd teleported to where Blake and Sun were and found they were trying to get into a White Fang rally, using their Faunus heritage and the masks that had been distributed to hide themselves in plain sight. Knowing they wouldn't be able to do the same, Bryce and Ren found a secondary entrance through a window and stayed away from any light, to stay hidden.

Ren watched quietly as Bryce created and attached a small device to his ear, before handing one that looked exactly like it to him, pointing to Ren's own ear. Ren attached it slowly, making sure to watch carefully as the Faunus and White Fang members conversed before the meeting started. Once he did, he heard Bryce's voice, yet his mouth never moved.

'Can you hear this. Nod if you can.' Ren nodded. 'Good. This is a mental communicator. If you mentally speak into the device, or think with the intent of it being broadcast, it'll come through this device so I can hear it. Clear?'

'Yes. It is a simple concept.'

'Good. It needs to be right now,' Bryce turned from Ren to look at the figures of Blake and Sun amongst the new recruits.

'Indeed.' Ren watched quietly as a dignified looking White Fang member walked out onto the stage.

"Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang. I am glad you could join us for this meeting. Today, we have a special partner who will be talking to us. And I suggest you really listen to his words. His assistance can bring us much closer to achieving our goals. So, without further ado, I turn this meeting over to our dear partner, Roman Torchwick."

The crowd began to whisper when they heard who the new partner was. As Roman Torchwick walked onto the stage, Bryce narrowed his eyes. 'It seems he really is working with the White Fang. The only question is, why?'

'I feel we may get that answer soon.' Ren said. They both watched silently as Roman, in his normal cockshire attitude walked out onto the stage twirling his cane in one hand while the other stayed in his pocket. One of the newer members, a female deer faunus, shouted out the thoughts of many that were in the crowd.

"What's a human doing here?"

"I'm glad you asked, Deerie." Roman grinned before leaning on his cane with both hands. "Now I will be the first to admit Humans are the worst. Case in point." Roman turned to walk around the stage. "But who is it that's really causing your problems. Most of us bottom feeders have to fight to survive? No, our issue is the ones at the top. The government, the politicians, the ones calling the shots. They make all our lives miserable."

Much of the crowd began to nod in agreement, and some small shouts rose from some of the more vocal people.

'He's actually getting them to listen.' Bryce said. 'Well I'll be.'

'Can't we teleport down there and deal with him? It seems like the most logical solution.'

'The only problem is I have no idea where that bodyguard of his is. And with her ability to teleport as well, I can't risk getting seen yet.'

"These people are like the worst kind of rats. Luckily for you," Roman grinned, "I'm the best exterminator there is." Roman coughed before saying, "no offense to any rodents in the audience."

"Now the only issue that stands in our way and dealing with those nasty people at the top, is their guard dogs. The Huntsmen."

'Uh oh.'

"All these young kids, being trained to fight and kill Grimm. Most of us have no quarrel with that. I have no love for the Grimm. However, that's not the only thing their taught to fight." Roman said, pointing to a giant screen behind them. As he did, a video of the attack at the docks appeared on the screen.

'Crap. They got video of that?'

'That is rather worrisome.'

'You got that right.'

As the video showed Bryce killing the members of the White Fang, Roman said, "They're also taught to fight and kill us. The 'problems and menaces' of society. And they're good at it." Many of the members began to gasp and whisper in horror as they watched their brethren be burned to death in a horrible fashion.

'Oh no. This is bad.'

'I believe you're right on that.'

"So as you can see, there's a problem that needs to be dealt with. Luckily for you, my extermination tools work on guard dogs rather well… yet again, no offense to any dogs in the room."

"Now, what tools would that be?" Roman threw his hands out to the side, "Well, thanks to a loving donation unknowingly made by Atlas, it would be these." A curtain behind Roman dropped, revealing a large mechanized robot. The White fang members slowly began to clap as they got over their shock. Roman smiled, bowing slightly. "Yes, it's rather nice isn't it? But that's not all." Roman grinned as he began to turn his head to where Bryce and Ren were sitting. Bryce stiffened when he saw the movement.

'Time for you to go,' Bryce said as he slapped his hand on Ren's back. Before he could react, Ren suddenly disappeared from where he'd been once before. As soon as Ren was gone, a bright spotlight lit up the area where Bryce sat. When pain began to wrack his body, Bryce knew something was not right.

"We now have ways to deal with even the best of guard dogs." Roman said as he watched Bryce grimace, standing slowly from where he sat in the rafters. As Bryce struggled to stand up, he felt something prick his neck, looking, he saw a dart in his neck. And he could feel the deadly poison developed to use his species powerful energy against them invade his system.

"Well, I'm surprised you'd be so bold and stupid to come to this." Roman said. "But I guess that's good for me," Roman nodded to a now visible Neo, who was standing behind the spotlight. "You can be my first example of dealing with the guard dogs."

' _Bryce, this anti-creati is going to keep causing problems unless we get rid of your creation energy.'_

'I know, Alpha' Bryce thought through grit teeth. 'I'm just still trying to figure out how he got his hands on this kind of tech.'

' _Worry about that later. Right now, Aura is your best chance for survival.'_ Bryce nodded and surged his power. The pulse that emanated from him knocked most of the scrambling and shocked White Fang to the floor. Blake and Sun both stood stock still as Bryce slowly let out a deep breath, his blue and black aura clearly surrounding his form.

"I'll admit, I'm surprised." Bryce said. "I wasn't expecting you to realize I was here."

"It's amazing what you can do with technology these days." Roman said, twirling his cane. "Especially when the new tech is attached to the new arm you have to get after someone so graciously destroyed your last one." Roman pulled back his sleeves, revealing the black and silver sheen of metal. On that arm, there was a small screen at the base of the wrist.

"Neat." Bryce said. He was still hurting from the anti-creati still in his system, and from the amount of destruction energy he was having to pour into it to purge it from his system. It was a slow process. "So, are you going to make an example of me?"

"Maybe not you, actually." Roman gestured over to where Blake and Sun still stood among the shocked crowd. "But they might do just the trick." In a flash of color, the empty space next to Blake and Sun shattered and Neo was right there, weapon already drawn.

Before anyone else could do anything, Bryce pulled his gun and yelled "Lights out! Move!"

*Boom*

The world suddenly went dark for Roman and Neo as Blake and Sun tried to rush outside. "Stop them, don't let them out!" Roman yelled as he jumped blindly into the mech. Bryce moved quickly, running to the exit he'd come in in. Blake and Sun ran out through the windows, crashing to the ground moments before the mech Roman was piloting charged right after them, through the wall.

"Call the rest of the team!" Blake yelled to Sun as she ran along the street, pumping her aura into her legs to help her run faster. "We need back up!"

"Where's Bryce," Sun yelled back as he used his tail to pull his scroll out of his pocket as he ran. Blake's expression became angry.

"I could care less where he is," She said as she ran along the street in between cars. "Just get the rest team RWBY here to help."

...

"Look, Blondie, I don't know anything." Junior said exasperatedly, "All I know is Roman came in here, borrowed some of my guys, and they never came back. I guess he wasn't happy with their performance," Junior turned to look at some of the lazier men he'd hired. "Which is something I can relate to!" Many of the grunts grumbled at the jab, but didn't say much more.

"Are you sure you don't have anything that could help?" Yang asked in frustration. She was getting nowhere quickly.

"Nothing else I can offer you besides a drink," He said, shaking his head. Yang slammed her first into the table before letting out a long sigh.

"Strawberry sunrise. No ice." Junior nodded, before heading off to get the drink. Yang sat there, trying to figure out where else she could go to find out more about Roman's recent dealings. She couldn't think of anything.

"Yang." The blond brawler looked up to see Jaune and Pyrrha approaching her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Jaune? Pyrrha? How'd you get in?"

"I have my ways," Jaune said. "The more important thing is we came to help you out."

"Well, I'm afraid you showed up a little late. There's not much we can do."

"Why do you say that?" Jaune asked.

"Because Junior here has no information about what's going on."

"She's not wrong." Junior said as he placed the drink in front of Yang, "As much as I'd love to throw Roman under a bus for all he's done to me, I've got nothing on him as of right now. He's just disappeared off the face of the underworld."

"That's rather troublesome." Pyrrha said, as she sat down next to Yang.

"Hph. You have no idea, Sparta." Yang chugged the her drink with one swift movement. Jaune stared at the drink with distaste as Yang handed it back to Junior for a second one.

"So what about the White Fang?" Junior paused in the middle of mixing Yang's drink.

"Pardon?"

"What about the White Fang? I'm sure you know something them."

"And why would you want to know about them? Cause from what I can see kid, you are not a faunus."

"It's not for that reason, Junior Marquiez." Junior froze when he heard his last name. Looking at Jaune, Junior was surprised to see a cold look present on kid face. Yang herself was also shocked to hear the sharp tone come from Jaune, one she'd never imagined he could have. "We know Roman is working with the White Fang. So what do you know about their recent actions."

Junior didn't answer at first. Instead he walked closer to where Jaune stood across the bar and stared him down. "How do you know my last name?"

Jaune didn't respond verbally, instead choosing to lift up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo he had once again. Pyrrha studied it closer this time, while Junior visibly appeared shaken. He looked from Jaune, to the tattoo, back to Jaune. After a moment, the shakiness was replaced with a wide smile.

"So you The Heir. And you're training to be a huntsman. Well isn't irony just sweet."

"Answer the question Junior."

"Calm down, kid. I'm getting there. As far as I can tell, the White Fang are preparing for war with the amount of dust their stealing. I haven't gotten much on their exact whereabouts, but I know that they've shaken every dust ring from here to Atlas."

Jaune looked down, taking a couple seconds to think, before looking back up at Junior. "Where are they operating out off?"

"My best guess? Somewhere in the docks or the nearby warehouses. They aren't keeping all that dust inside the city, that's for sure."

"See, useful information." Jaune smiled, his eyes losing the icey emotion that overtaken them for his normally bright look. Yang just sat quietly, still staring at Jaune in utter bewilderment. "Thank you, Junior. We'll take our leave, now." Jaune turned to Pyrrha and Yang. "Let's go. We don't need to be here any longer." Yang sat stiffly for a second before getting up slowly from the bar stool she sat on, following Jaune and Pyrrha as they headed for the exit of The Club.

"What the heck was that Jaune?" Yang said as she grabbed Jaune's shoulder. Jaune let out a long sigh, before continuing towards the door.

"Something I will talk about later. We've got to help the rest of your team."

"The rest of my te- no, you explain right now Jaune, or-"

"Yang." Pyrrha interrupted Yang before she could go further. "Jaune said he'd talk about it later. You're not the only one who wants to know what's going on, Yang, but we have to help your team."

Yang didn't say anything, instead choosing to let out a frustrated groan, before following Jaune and Pyrrha walk out of The Club. As they pushed open the doors leading to the outside, Yang felt her scroll begin to vibrate. She'd barely pulled it out and answered it when she heard Sun screaming on the other end of the line.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

"Sun? What's going on?"

"We were at the White Fang meeting and Torchwick showed up and Bryce was there, and then Torchwick attacked Bryce and that weird pink chick tried to stab us and now Roman Torchwick is inside a giant robot chasing us trying to kill us. Well, not inside it like it ate him, more like he's driving it from inside it and-"

Yang cut Sun off before he could ramble on more. "Where are you?" In that moment, the universe decided to make a hilarious visual joke as Blake and Sun ran by the exact street Jaune, Pyrrha, and Yang were by, yelling, "HELP!"

"Did he say Bryce was attacked?" Jaune asked Pyrrha. Yang let out a frustrated breath at the mention of Bryce, and hoped on her bike.

"That doesn't matter right now. Blake and Sun need our help. Bryce can worry about himself." Yang looked to Pyrrha, and motioned to the back of her bike. "Do you want to hop on? I could use the extra firepower while I'm driving."

"Gladly." Pyrrha nodded. Jaune was about to protest when Pyrrha leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Remember Bryce said he might need your help if things got out of hand. You're powers are better suited to help him than mine." Jaune nodded, before drawing his shield and running down the street, sword still inside the sheath. Yang looked to Pyrrha with a questioning gaze.

"What is going on, Pyrrha?" Yang said as Pyrrha sat down behind her.

"We can talk about it later. Right now, we need to help your team."

…

Weiss was beyond annoyed. As soon as she'd gotten into the CCT she'd been put on hold for ten minutes as some military calls were made and some random people in tags and ties called home. The call itself wasn't that noteworthy, as she'd been able to avoid a confrontation with her father. However, what was noteworthy and rather irksome was that when she'd exited the CCT, neither Nora or Ruby were anywhere to be seen. Since locating Ruby was almost always impossible thanks to the distance she could travel in a short period of time due to her semblance, she'd tried calling her. Nothing. No answer. So she was having to do exactly what Nora had said Bryce did to find them. Track Ruby's scroll so she could find her.

Weiss turned the corner that led to a rather familiar street. She'd been this way many a time on the weekends when Ruby was bored. Or whenever Ruby wanted to buy some new modification for Crescent Rose.

"Ruby Rose, if you are where I think you are I will burn your cookie stash." Weiss said through grit teeth. How dare she go and play at a time when they were supposed to be serious.

Inside the arcade, a large shiver ran down Ruby's spine, and her head shot up from the game she was playing.

"Oh no."

Nora looked at Ruby with a questioning gaze. "What's up Rubles?"

"I've made a mistake that has affected the cosmos and will bring darkness and despair to all it passes Judgement on."

"Uh… What do you mean?" Nora asked, confusion and now some nervousness included in her voice.

"I've made an error of epic proportions. And it has caused the person I have offended to threaten the very balance of my soul."

Nora was not used to the profound language coming from Ruby and it was honestly beginning to worry her. "And that would be?"

Ruby turned slowly to Nora, her face pale, before saying. "My stash of cookies had been threatened with major violence. And I fear this is an enemy I cannot defeat."

Before either one could say anything else, Ruby's phone began to ring.

Weiss pushed open the doors rather angrily. She should've known Ruby wouldn't have the patience to wait for her, but to go without saying a word? It was beyond aggravating. She'd been hoping Ruby had learned to be more responsible, and while she had in some respects, this was obviously not one of them.

As soon as she stepped into The Arcade, the front manager recognized her and recognized the frustrated expression she wore. Smiling mischievously, he pointed towards the back of the arcade.

"She's over there by the Time Crisis series."

"Thank you." Weiss tossed him her credits to enter into the arcade, even though she wasn't playing, and went straight towards the back. Multiple ideas of how she could teach Ruby her lesson popped into her mind. That is till she got to the back and saw Ruby staring at her phone, with the sounds of Sun screaming for help coming from the phone.

"Ruby?" Weiss said, her previous anger disappearing as she saw the worried expressions on their face. "What's going on?"

Ruby didn't answer the question. Instead, she extended her scroll to its larger size, and pulled up a map of Vale. Seeing the lack of a reaction from her partner, Weiss turned to Nora. "Nora, what happened."

"Sun and Blake got caught, and are being chased by Torchwick. They also said something about Bryce getting attacked." Nora stopped talking, looking at the docks where Bryce had said they'd be. "Ren was with him."

Weiss' heart began to pound for a brief second as she recognized the danger that meant Ren could be in, before she calmed down, and put her hand on Nora's shoulder.

"He'll be fine, Nora. He's a smart guy and Bryce wouldn't let him get hurt. But right now, we need to focus on how to help Blake and Sun." Weiss turned to Ruby. "Where does it say their headed?"

"Towards the center of town, closer to the highway bowl." Ruby said, pointing to two fast traveling dots on her map of Vale.

"Where can we head them off?"

"As far as I can see, near the end of the west highway is probably which road they'll take. If we head them off there, we can bring them to the empty concrete pit that hasn't been used for anything yet. It's the best place to fight ideally, especially to avoid casualties and civilian damage."

"Alright, what do you need me to do?"

"Ice Dust, right of the bridge. After that, we can get the rest of the team for team maneuvers to finish the job and… take Roman in."

In the rush of the moment, Weiss missed Ruby's slight hesitation. "Well, that sounds like a plan. Nora?" Nora saluted semi-enthusiastically, still slightly worried about Ren. "Make sure the civilians on our end of the highway stay safe and out of harm's way."

"Roger."

"Let's go. We can't let Roman escape this time." Ruby said, collapsing her scroll before putting it inside her pocket. All three girls charged outside the arcade, taking no time to say goodbye to the manager as they rushed towards the VR 55.

"Call Bryce," Ruby told Weiss as they ran. "Let him know what we're planning so he can give us back up."

Weiss nodded than started dialing the numbers for Bryce's Scroll before hitting the call button.

…

Bryce was pushing himself to the limit right now. The pain of the anti-creati poison was still lingering, and hadn't been entirely purged from his system yet. Add on to that, he was pumping himself full of the tiny amount of omni-energy he'd regained to significantly boost his abilities, it was safe to say he was pushing hard right now. Why? To make sure all the people Roman was kicking to the side in his chase after Blake and Sun didn't die.

Bryce jumped off a nearby wall to push himself high enough to grab a minivan full of kids nearly tossed over the tall buildings in downtown Vale. Once he'd grabbed the vehicle, he quickly, and as carefully as he could, set the vehicle down before moving just as quickly to destroy some large pieces of rubble from crushing a family running along the sidewalk. Back and forth, Bryce moved at a speed almost impossible for any huntsman to move at, except maybe Ruby, doing all he could to keep the civilians from getting hurt.

Further behind him, Jaune was doing exactly what Bryce had planned on. Jaune would run by those Bryce had saved, also at speeds unbeknownst to most huntsmen, and checked on them. For those that needed it, he healed them the best he could, as quickly as he could, before moving on. Between the two of them, they kept as many civilians as they could from being severely hurt or even killed during the chase.

As Bryce caught a little girl sent flying by an explosion, he felt his scroll buzz.

"Alpha, I can't get that right now. Tell whoever's calling to call back later."

" _It's Ruby."_

"Okay, maybe not. Can you connect the call to my chip?"

" _I can. You should feel a piercing sensation once that happens."_

Bryce grunted loudly as he took the hit from a Semi that had been sent flying towards a nearby building. "Just do it."

Bryce didn't hear Alpha respond, instead he just felt a sharp piercing sensation. "Sup Ruby."

"Bryce, where are you right now?"

"On Highway 220, headed for VR 55." Bryce pulled out his pistol and shot a runaway vehicle's tire to keep it from rolling of a cliff. "Why?"

"We have a plan to get Roman away from the main city so we can fight him safely."

"Alright." Bryce said as he passed off an injured man to Jaune to heal. "What do you need me to do exactly?"

"We need someone to hit him from the side to make him go over the edge. Weiss is going to cover the highway in ice so we can get his mech to lose traction. Can you do that?"

"While norm- Look out!" yelled at Jaune as a cable snapped and nearly took of Jaune's head. "While normally I would say yes, I have to ask how you plan on making sure the bridge doesn't collapse if things go south. The VR 55 isn't exactly known for being a solid bridge."

"We aren't sure. We just know the best place to head Roman off is the bridge, and we're almost positive it won't break when we do this. It's the only plan we have right now."

Bryce sighed, before punching a piece of shrapnel from a car that exploded into the ground, before motioning to Jaune to go check and see if anyone was still alive. "Alright. I'll see what I can do if things go wrong."

"Thanks, Bryce."

"Bryce!" Nora's voice now joined the call. "Where's Ren? He was with you and then Sun said something about you getting attacked."

"He's fine, Nora." Bryce assured her as he used Alpha's grappling hook to grab a falling mother and child, before pulling them back to safety. "I teleported him out of there the moment things went haywire. He's currently bringing Ozpin and Vale authorities up to speed on what's going on."

Nora let out a big sigh of relief. "Okay. That's good then."

"That should be all we need. We're ready to act as soon as Roman reaches the end of the bridge."

"Alright then." Bryce looked to where Roman was chasing after Blake and Sun, with Pyrrha and Yang following close behind, Pyrrha sending shot after shot into the armor for the Mech suit. "On your mark."

Bryce watched carefully as Weiss appeared from around a corner, using her glyphs to set up walls and protections for the surrounding vehicles. As Blake and Sun began to move to the sides of the VR 55, Weiss slammed Myrstenar into the ground, before Ice spread all across the road. As Roman' mech hit the ice, Ruby shouted "Now!"

Bryce focused the remaining part of his omni energy to fire a powerful blast from right next to Roman that sent him careening over the edge of the bridge to the ground below. However, on his way down, Roman threw one of the mech's arms into one of the supporting cables, shattering the tension and the pillar holding the cable to the bridge. The sudden force caused the ice covered part of the bridge to burst into pieces. As team RWBY and Pyrrha chased after Roman, Bryce felt panic overcome him. What could he do? There had to be something.

Jaune saw the situation before them and started grabbing civilians and moving them away from the part of the bridge that was falling apart. Nora, who was on the opposite side, began to do the same, as both sides of the shattered bridge began to break closer and closer to the next supporting pillars on either end.

"Alpha, is there anything I can do."

" _..."_

"Alpha I know you have something, just say it."

" _You may die."_

"Is that anything new? Just tell me!"

" _Stop fighting the poison and use your creation energy to stabilize the collapse of the bridge. It's the only way we have right now to still maintain our identity as a huntsman in training and not draw the attention of the deities again."_

"That's… that's fine by me. Just tell me what I need to do to do that." Bryce said as he reformed his falsely created Aura back into creation energy. He could feel the pain begin to rush through his system once again as the poison now found something to feed off of.

" _Use the cables to pull the bridge up. It's collapsing because it doesn't have support. Until Jaune and Nora can evacuate everyone to safety, you need to become that support. It'll take all your creation energy and most of your aura to do so, but you should be able to maintain it long enough for everyone to be safe."_

"Alright. Let's try it then." Bryce moved quickly, grabbing every cable he could. "Tell Nora to grab the ones on the other side and throw them to me."

" _I did. She should be done 4.3 seconds after you."_ Once Bryce had grabbed all the cables to his side of the bridge, he called out to Jaune.

"Jaune!" Jaune looked over at Bryce.

"Yes?"

"Make sure all civilians and cars are safely behind the next pillar. I'm going to stabilize the bridge as best I can to give you guys time."

"What?! Are you sure that'll work?"

"Just trust me and do it!" Jaune simply nodded, before continuing to use his creation energy and aura to help speed him around the collapsing bridge.

"Bryce!" Bryce looked to see Nora holding the cables to the other side of the bridge. "I got the cables."

"Alright. I need you to throw them to me when I jump, got it?" Nora nodded, and prepared to throw the mass of cables to Bryce, trying to find solid balance near the collapsing edge. After a moment to compose himself, Bryce jumped off the side as Nora threw her ends to him, grabbing them all. The moment he did, he began to exert all his strength to pull all the cables tight. As he did, the bridge visible began to fall apart less quickly. Jaune and Nora got to work immediately, grabbing people as fast as they could.

Minutes felt like hours as Bryce continued to hold the bridge together. VPD and emergency personnel began to show up, and they each began to help in the effort to save people from falling of the collapsing bridge, attempting to evacuate it entirely. Many of them tried to find ways to assist Bryce, but without heavy, specialized equipment, they could do nothing. He could feel the poison eating away at his system. And while his destruction energy had almost entirely purged it, the little that was left was quite effective in reducing the amount of strength he could output because of how weak it was effectively making him.

Suddenly, Bryce heard the sound of concrete breaking below him, and the bridge shook. He could see from his limited view that Yang had been punched through on of the concrete pillars below. Looking back up, he watched as a young girl, no older than ten, was knocked off the bridge from the tremor. Losing all focus on his current task, Bryce dove after her. He tried to teleport, but the poison flowing in his blood stream had eaten too much energy to do a second jump or even fly. He had to reach her normally before he could bring her back to safety.

She was screaming. He recognized that. He really took in the details about her as he got closer. Fifty feet. She had red hair and bright brown eyes. Forty feet. She wore a pair of blue joggers and a shirt with a band name on it. Owl City as far as he could tell. Thirty feet. She had a small marks on her forearm in some form of a pattern. He wasn't sure what it meant. Twenty feet. She had a set of small bat ears poking out of her hair. Ten feet. He wasn't close enough to save her. He teleported.

…

Ruby was floundering for anything right now. They'd been able to destroy the robot Roman had been piloting rather easily due to Pyrrha's assistance, but now they were at a standoff. Roman's partner, the neapolitan girl, had followed them and had just been waiting for an opportune moment, and decided to knock out an unaware Pyrrha and take Weiss captive. With Pyrrha knocked out, no one could do anything. Both Roman and… Neo maybe, had shown they were good enough fighters to defend from their ranged attacks, and getting close would only doom Weiss.

"Well, Red, Blondie, Kitty. It's been a pleasure as always," Roman smiled, bowing slightly as he jumped onto the bullhead, with Neo among behind him, Weiss squirming in her grip. "But we 'schneed' to get going." Roman laughed as the bullhead roared to life. Ruby's mind went into overdrive. What could she do?

Ruby felt the clips in her bag shift and a weight enter her hands. Looking down she realized she had unconsciously grabbed the clip Bryce had given her. She felt her hand shake as she stared at the unforgiving black color. That is till she looked at the terrified look on Weiss' face as the bullhead began to lift on the ground. The fear that Weiss obviously felt wiped any doubt in her heart. In a practiced movement, she unloaded her regular ammo from her clip, before sliding the new clip into place and loading a shell into the chamber. Neither Blake or Yang noticed, their own worry distracting them as Ruby lifted the barrel of Crescent Rose up to the retreating bullhead, before aiming it directly at Roman. What they did notice, however, was the loud bark of her rifle as she fired a single round, aimed for Roman Torchwick's chest.

From where Neo stood, she could only watch in complete shock and horror as Roman fell to the ground of the bullhead, a gaping hole in his chest, blood covering his suit. In her shock, Neo's grip loosened enough for Weiss to slip out and jump to her team. Instead of turning after her, the pilot hit the engines and zoomed off, recognizing the danger it was to stay, especially with Roman bleeding out in the back.

As the reality of what just happened hit everyone full force, they all turned to stare at Ruby, who was having trouble keeping her breathing calm.

"Ruby." Yang tried to keep the… well, the fear and worry out of her voice as best she could. She failed miserably. "Ruby, what did you just do."

"I… I shot him. Oh Oum I shot him. But I had to. He had Weiss andIcouldn'tthinkofanythingelsetodoand-"

"Ruby." Ruby didn't look at Blake. She kept staring at the ground as her breath got faster and faster. "Ruby, breathe please, you're going to hyperventilate."

Ruby didn't listen. She kept breathing faster and faster, her face getting whiter and whiter. As her team tried to calm her down, Pyrrha began to regain consciousness.

"Ow." as Pyrrha looked up, she saw Yang and Blake talking to a panicking Ruby. "What's going on?" Pyrrha asked

"She shot Roman when he tried to kidnap me and now she's panicking." Weiss explained, "I think she's going into shock."

Pyrrha nodded, understanding the situation, before walking over to the "Here, let me try something."

Weiss motioned for Pyrrha to go ahead as she walked up to Ruby. Yang didn't move from Ruby's side as Pyrrha walked up to the red reaper. Ruby didn't seem to acknowledge Pyrrha, instead staring off into the distance, her face getting paler and her eyes more dilated as she fell deeper and deeper into her own thoughts. Pyrrha gently grabbed Ruby's head and put it to hers.

"Ruby. I need you to look at me." The sudden movement and close proximity broke Ruby's train of thought and she looked directly into green eyes. "On three, we're both going to take a deep breath in. Than, your going to hold it for three seconds, before letting it out. Okay?" Ruby nodded slowly, breathing still heavy.

"One, two, three." Both Ruby and Pyrrha took a deep breath in, waited, then let it out. "Okay, again." Both took a deep breath once again, held it, then let it all out. For two minutes Pyrrha repeated the process with Ruby till she was a normal color and her eyes weren't dilated.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Ruby nodded slowly, still taking deep breaths.

"Alright. Now the best way to calm down is talk about how you feel. Let it all out."

Ruby nodded again, before letting out one final deep breath. "I… I think… I feel… so… off. What I did… it-"

"Didn't feel right?" Blake finished. "That's what I was talking about, Ruby. It isn't right to kill someone."

"No, Blake. That's not what I'm trying to say. I feel… sad. I know what I did… and I'm terrified over it. But I… I feel like… almost like it was necessary. And I don't want it to be. But I had to. I was scared. Scared of losing Weiss. Scared of letting Roman get away. I…"

Ruby went quiet, unsure of what else to say, trying to gather her own thoughts. Blake still shook her head, showing her disappointment.

"Ruby, it wasn't okay. We can't stop every bad guy we come across by killing them. We're just stopping to their level."

"I'm not sure about that Blake." Ruby said.

Yang was eerily silent as she stared at Crescent Rose in Ruby's hands. As Blake tried to explain why it wasn't right, Yang finally asked, "Ruby, where'd you get that clip."

"What?" the question surprised Ruby. She'd been so absorbed in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed where Yang's attention had been. Feeling the shift in focus, Blake and Weiss both turned to look towards Crescent Rose and noticed the same thing Yang had.

"Where did you get that clip Ruby?" Yang repeated, folding her arms as she stared down her little sister. "I know for a fact that that isn't a clip you have. You don't carry hollow point rounds."

"Wait, how do you-"

"I did some research on bullets a while back. After that first conversation we had with Bryce about bullet calibers, I wanted to know everything I could so I could help you sis. I learned a lot about bullets, including some more idea for my own shells. What I still don't understand is how you got your hands on hollow point rounds. The armory doesn't make them and I know for sure you never made them."

Ruby didn't know what to say. She didn't want to throw Bryce under a bus that already wanted any reason in the world to drive over him. But she also didn't want to lie to Yang. Especially about something so serious. Ruby knew Yang wasn't happy with what she'd done. Neither was Blake for that matter. And she wasn't sure yet how she felt about it. Her own mind was still milling over what she'd done and there was a heaviness in her heart that felt uncomfortable.

"Uh… I found them?"

"Now is not the time, Ruby!" Ruby flinched as Yang's anger flared. "You just killed someone. Using that ammunition. Who. Gave. It. To. You."

"Um…" Ruby faltered, desperately trying to find a way out of answering the question.

"Yang, stop pestering her. She's been through enough tonight." Weiss intervened. Ruby let out a internal sigh of relief. "Besides, we all know exactly who gave it to her." And good feelings gone.

"Uhhhhh…" Ruby stuttered, trying to find a retort that could save Bryce from the anger he was about to receive. She couldn't find one. Yang didn't say anything at first. She just kept clenching and clenching her fist. Her eyes turned a deep red color, deeper than Ruby could remember them ever going.

It was at that time that Jaune came falling down from the highway, shattering the ground as he did so. All of them jumped, and Yang turned to punch him only to stop when she realized who it was Jaune.

"Jaune!" Ruby appeared in front of the bond as he pulled himself unhurt from the crater he'd formed. "Are you okay?"

Jaune spoke quickly, obviously in a rush. "I'm fine. The last of my creation energy protected me. Right now though, we need to find Bryce." At that name, Yang was reminded of her anger.

"Yeah. We should. I've got some choice words for him."

Jaune apparently recognized the anger in Yang's voice because his response killed any and all tension aimed the Septonian's direction. "Worry about that later. We need to see if he and the little girl he dove off the bridge after are even alive."

In an instant, Jaune had all the girls full attention. "WHAT!?"

"I'll explain later. C'mon, he should be on the other end of the bridge." Jaune yelled as he ran full sprint towards where he'd seen Bryce and the little girl falling. All the girls ran after him, their own quarrels and questions put on hold over the safety of a little girl. As they got closer to where Jaune had seen them falling, they saw Bryce, laying on the ground, holding the little girl to his chest. He was covered in blood, crying, holding the child tightly. The little girl wasn't moving at all. A strong sense of sorrow swept over their hearts as they saw the scene laid out before them.

"Bryce?" Bryce didn't move at first. He just lay there, clutching the lifeless body tighter. "Bryce?" Bryce heard his name the second time around and looked to everyone standing there. As tears ran down his cheeks, he looked back at the little girl. He slowly sat up, setting her carefully down on the ground, before standing up. He wiped the tears from his face before walking over to the group. No one moved as he walked right past a no longer angry Yang and a bawling Ruby. It was only when he stopped in front of Blake that they all turned their attention from the little girl's body to him. Blake started to speak.

"Bryce, wha-" Bryce slapped Blake right across the cheek. Everyone stared at the seething anger rising from Bryce, matching Yang's previous anger.

"I hope you're happy Blake." Bryce spat venomously. "'Cause this is on you."

 **And leaving on a cliffhanger. Hate me yet? No? Good, cause I've got much more in store. If you can't tell, I don't exactly let my characters have an easy time of it. And I hope you now realize, I'm not afraid to kill characters. So be wary. Roman may not be the only one to get an early cut. Get your anger sticks ready, cause it's gonna get ugly. Anyways, Favorite, Follow, Leave a Review, Bash me for killing off Roman, Give me your hate, yada yada, you get the drift. I will see you later, my good friends. Ciao!**


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